Sticks and Stones
by rawrchelle
Summary: Sasuke/Sakura. Naruto/Ino. AU. Sakura decided that Ino deserved something real, Naruto was colorblind, and Kiba was a man-whore. And Sasuke? Sasuke’s got a stick shoved up his ass.
1. there were sticks,

**Summary:** Sakura decided that Ino deserved something real, Naruto was colorblind, and Kiba was a man-whore. And Sasuke? Sasuke's got a stick shoved up his ass.

Again, much thanks to xx. false - deception who, although, has only beta'd this chapter, _will_ beta the whole thing. Because I'm a bitch and she spoils me. XD Check her stuff out, people. She's under my favorite authors.

Disclaimed.  
read&review.

* * *

"_Sasuke!" He turned around to see Sakura chasing him. He waited until she reached him, panting._

_He watched her tuck a lock of hair behind her hair. "What do you want?"_

For you to fall in love with me,_ she said with a faint smile. He snorted mentally to himself._

_Yeah, right._

"_Can you help me with that World Lit. project? I'm kind of stuck."_

_He rolled his eyes. "Fine."_

* * *

**sticks and stones**  
i: there were sticks,

* * *

"Dammit, where the hell is he?" Naruto cried, clearly impatient. Sakura and Ino glanced at each other; they had only been waiting here for about two minutes.

Apparently, they were waiting for Naruto's childhood friend. Neither of the girls had met him before, because he went to a different elementary and middle school, but, according to the blonde male, they were going to be friends from now on, so they should meet him as soon as possible.

Ino had said that she wasn't looking forward to it. Any childhood friend of Naruto's was probably just as loud, obnoxious, and lacking fashion sense as he himself. She had agreed, but because she treated Naruto like a brother, she thought another friend wouldn't be a problem.

"There he is! Yo, Sasuke-teme!" Said brother-like friend began to wave enthusiastically, and Sakura shifted her gaze in the direction he was waving in. As the figure came closer, she noted dark, spiked hair, and clothes that _didn't_ attract attention like Naruto's bright orange t-shirt.

And when the boy stopped at their group, pulling his suitcase into a standing position, she thought she had never seen anyone so hot in her life.

She felt Ino nudge her ribs. She shot her an _I know; we'll freak out later_ look, and managed to smile.

"Sakura-chan, Ino-chan, this is Sasuke. I know he looks like a completely depressed child, but he's not that bad once you get to know him." Naruto grinned in a way she had never seen before.

Sakura held out her hand when Sasuke's attention focused on her. "I'm Haruno Sakura." He stared at her outstretched hand for a long moment, before he took it in a brief shake. She noted how cold his hand was.

"Uchiha Sasuke."

She rolled her eyes when Ino batted her eyelashes flirtatiously. "I'm Yamanaka Ino. I didn't know Naruto would be friends with such a cool person."

Sasuke didn't even take her hand. And, being Ino, she didn't really notice.

And so after some short introductions and catching up between the raven-haired boy and Naruto, they all headed to their respected dorms to settle in.

"He is _so_ hot," Ino said disbelievingly when the door closed behind them. "I didn't know people like him existed."

Sakura shrugged as she pulled her suitcase to the bed by the window. "I call this one." Their dorm room was small and mediocre—exactly what a dorm was expected to be. "But he looks like he's got a stick shoved up his ass."

Her blonde friend snorted as she began to unpack all of her clothes. "Yeah, but he won't be by the time I'm done with him."

"Did you forget about Kiba?"

Ino laughed at her boyfriend's name. "'Course not. Just because I'm taken doesn't mean I can't ease him up a little, right? And, besides," she began to fill her drawers, "by the looks of it, all of the girls will be all over him, so I need a head start."

Sakura laughed lightly. "Of course."

When they all met up again—this time, with Kiba as well—they spent the afternoon touring the campus. Naruto seemed more interested in the fact that the cafeteria was open from seven in the morning to ten at night than anything. So, soon, the five of them were sitting at a table, chatting.

It was rather uneventful, in Sakura's opinion. She'd rather be checking her e-mail. With that thought, she pulled out her MacBook and began to check.

Sasuke, who was sitting beside her, glanced in her direction—because, clearly, he was bored with the conversation, too. (She wasn't sure, but it had something to do with chartreuse nail polish.)

She skimmed a page-long e-mail from Lee. "So, what do you major in?" she asked Sasuke lightly, barely even registering what she was reading.

"Psychology," came the nonchalant reply. She glanced at him incredulously out of the corner of her eye, and he raised an eyebrow. "What?"

Smiling slightly, she shook her head. "I don't know. I didn't think you'd be the type of person to go into psychology, I guess." For someone who's got a stick shoved up his ass, he was pretty thoughtful.

"What about you, then?"

"Bio-Chem," she said offhandedly, clicking the _reply_ button and typing an e-mail back to Lee. _Oh, I'm doing fine. Just settled in this morning, and we're looking around campus right now. Classes start tomorrow. I've met a couple of new friends; they're nice._

He chuckled. "Doctor?"

"Brain surgeon, actually." _How are you? It's your second year; have you chosen on a career, yet? It'll be dangerous if you don't, soon._

"Then what do you minor in?"

_Anyways, I've got to go; Ino's complaining about the lack of hot guys in the area. I'll talk to you soon._ Quickly clicking send before she could feel guilty, she closed the window. Sasuke, having clearly seen this, rolled his eyes. "Ironically, literature," she told him. "What about you?"

"Same."

She raised her eyebrows. "Really, now."

"Does something in my expression tell you that I'm lying?"

She shook her head. "Not really. But…Well, I guess—"

"You didn't think I'd be the type of person to go into it," he finished for her, tone dripping with sarcasm. "And I'd think you would go into cosmetics and designing with that blonde over there." He jerked his thumb towards Ino, and she shrugged.

"We're best friends, but we're different."

She was beginning to think that maybe, Sasuke wasn't so bad after all. Other than being incredibly hot, maybe he had a sense of humor, and the stick shoved of his ass wasn't really as long as she had originally thought.

Until he said, "Your name is Sakura, right?"

She rolled her eyes. "Right."

* * *

The next day, after lunch, Sasuke and Sakura made their way to World Literature together. Their teacher was a silver-haired man who had his face buried into a book.

Typical for a World Literature teacher, she supposed.

All of the classrooms, as she had come to notice, had tables made for pairs. After scanning the room and concluding that they knew no one else in the class, they found a vacant table in the back and settled in.

"D'you think this school year will be easy?" she asked, just for a light conversation.

"Sure." He wasn't even putting any effort into his speech as he pulled out his notebook and a pen.

She wrinkled her nose. "Really? It's our first year, though; the responsibility and being away from home is kind of…nerve-wracking." Just thinking about her parents back home made her feel a little homesick. And it was only the first day.

He shrugged. "I'm used to it."

Before he could really ask anymore, the teacher cleared his throat at the front of the room.

"You guys are a lively bunch. Let me promise you, by the time this course is finished, you're all going to have the same shade of hair color and as much enthusiasm as me." There was a moment of slightly stunned silence. "I'm Kakashi, by the way. Nice to meet you all."

No one said anything back.

* * *

"I can't believe we have homework on the first day," Ino groaned, nearly slamming her forehead against the table as they had their dinner that night.

Kiba shrugged, draping an arm around her shoulders. "I'm going to copy off someone. Not worth the effort."

Sakura shot him a dirty look. "You're never going to learn anything that way."

"I've been doing it all through high school; I can do it now."

"Kiba's been partying and getting drunk since ninth grade!" Naruto said through a mouthful of pasta. "He can go to class tipsy, and no one would even notice!"

"What are you talking about?" Kiba grinned. "I hold my alcohol so well, I don't even get tipsy anymore."

As her friends continued to bicker, Sakura held her fork between her lips. She needed to brainstorm for World Literature homework; Kakashi had assigned them to write a short story at least two thousand words long, just so he can get to know their writing styles. And it was due the next day.

She thought that was ridiculous. Some people can't just snap their fingers and write. (Given, she _was_ one of those people, but that wasn't the point.)

"No one copies my homework," she heard Sasuke say beside her. She realized that they had formed a formation at their table; on one side, she and Sasuke would sit, and on the other side, from left to right, respectively, was Naruto, Ino, and Kiba.

"Speaking of which, Sasuke, do you have any ideas for World Lit.?" she asked, taking a sip of her apple juice.

"I will once I start working on it."

"Say, do you want to work on it together? It seems like Naruto, Ino, and Kiba are going to do their History homework together, anyway."

"Sure. You don't get to copy, though."

She smiled. As if she could copy a short story, anyway. "Alright. My dorm?"

He didn't even look at her. "Sure."

* * *

"I don't want to do this!" Naruto wailed, throwing his History textbook down. "It's just a worksheet, but why are the answers so hard to find?"

Sasuke didn't even look up from the screen of his MacBook. (Everyone has one of those these days, Sakura noted.) "Read it and apply it, dobe."

The blonde frowned before promptly grabbing a pillow off of Ino's bed and chucking it at his head. He blocked it easily with one raise of his arm, and returned to typing. Normally, Ino would've shrieked about him even _touching_ anything on her bed—but she was currently making out with Kiba in the corner of the room—a direction in which she'd rather not look in.

Sakura continued writing her short story. She had no idea what to compose, really—since she wasn't that much of a writer, to be honest, no matter how much she could write—so she went with the typical love story. Girl meets boy, one falls for the other. Said other doesn't care.

And in the end, after everything's through and done, they live happily ever after. It worked every time.

It was then that she received and e-mail from Lee. Letting out a loud and obvious sigh of frustration, she clicked the notification at the bottom corner of her screen. She really didn't want to deal with him—but she honestly couldn't imagine breaking things off with him. It was too cruel.

She heard Sasuke chuckle, almost inaudibly. "E-mail from your boyfriend?"

She raised her eyebrows. "How did you know?"

"Read over your shoulder yesterday. It was a little obvious."

A frown met her features. "That's not nice, you know. Invasion of privacy."

"I just happen to memorize everything I read."

"Just dump him, already." She diverted her attention from her screen momentarily to see Naruto rolling his eyes. "Honestly, he's creepy. Why are you going out with him, again?"

"Because he's sweet, and accepts the fact that I don't feel the same way right now," she replied indignantly. "If he wants to waste his time trying to prove that he's worth it in the end, then fine."

The blonde huffed. "You're never going to feel the same way, _ever_," he muttered. "Don't give him false hope."

"Are you jealous, Naruto?" she mocked, grinning.

"I ask you out once a month! Is that not obvious enough?" After glancing at his worksheet that he hadn't really been touched for the past hour, he groaned in annoyance. "Ino, Kiba, stop fucking each other over there and help me out with this!"

And, so, doing homework together became a habit for them.

* * *

On Friday, exactly five days after he had assigned it, Kakashi returned their homework.

"You originality is appalling, Haruno-san," he said dryly as he handed back her paper lazily. "Good work. Same with you, Uchiha-san."

She smiled when she saw her mark. The classic love story really worked every time. "What'd you get, Sasuke?"

"Ninety-six. You?"

"Ninety-two. If things are going to be this easy throughout the entire year, I'm going to ace this course with flying colors."

He grunted in response, and she was satisfied with that.

Over the past week, she had learnt a little to zip about the guy. He was quiet, conservative, and had a stick shoved up his ass. Deep. But judging from the amount of fan girls that she had seen ever since school started (honestly, they never grew out of it), that was probably what made him so goddamn popular.

Somehow, it made her want to laugh and gag at the same time.

If that was even possible.

That evening, after dinner, Naruto and Sakura sat on the bleachers, watching Kiba and Sasuke's soccer tryouts. Ino was off at her cheerleading tryouts and had insisted that they didn't come, because she would look so much better when actually on the field and in action.

"Hey, Naruto, has Sasuke always been like that?" she asked offhandedly as said Uchiha, complete in his t-shirt, shorts, and soccer cleats, scored his third goal in a row.

"Hm? What do you mean?"

"As if he has a stick shoved up his ass. Does he ever smile?"

There was a pause. "He used to," her blonde friend said, all mirth in his tone gone. "Back when we were about seven, or so."

She blinked. "So…what happened?"

"His dad owned some famous company, and one day, he was murdered." She turned to him, jaw dropping slightly.

"Seriously?"

He nodded, returning his gaze to their dark-haired friend. "They never found the culprit, either. His mom kind of went mad, so they sent her to rehab. He only had an older brother left, but he just does the bare minimum. Y'know, pay the bills, and stuff. Sasuke does everything else."

"That's…" Sakura swallowed. "That's terrible. How does he stand it?"

"I don't think he can. Ever since, I don't think I've really seen him smile properly. The way he used to, I mean."

The way he moved on the soccer field with familiarity, as if he'd played soccer all his life and had a normal childhood like every other person certainly pulled the sympathy from her. She supposed she couldn't blame him for acting the way he did.

But that didn't really change the fact that he had a stick shoved up his ass. It's just that the stick suddenly got bigger.

"I feel bad for him," she said quietly, hugging herself. The zip-up hoodie she was wearing didn't really help keeping the evening chill from setting in.

"Me, too." Naruto leaned forward, having his elbows rest on his knees. "And you know how I suck with advice and consoling people. All I can do is be happy every day, and hope that he's happy, too, in his own twisted way."

She watched as Sasuke returned to the back of the line, and Kiba began taking his shots at the defended goal.

"Yeah."

**

* * *

**

**A/N: **Okay, so I have numerous excuses for why this sucks.

1. This is my first AU. Ever.  
2. SasuSaku isn't really my OTP—I'm just in a phase right now.  
3. I swear, this really _is_ my first AU ever.  
4. It's almost pure romance _because_ it's my first AU, which leads to shorter chapters.

And, those who have alerts on Dreams—I swear to God, I'll update. I just need to proofread the last chapter one more time. And I think it's really _long_, so, because I'm lazy…Yeah.

Inspired by ANGELforSHOW's _Like VitaminWater_, so check it out.

Reviews and constructed criticism is appreciated.


	2. and there were stones

**sticks and stones  
**ii. and there were stones.

* * *

It was Sunday night, and the five of them were in Sasuke and Naruto's dorm.

They were taking turns with places to crash. After one evening in Sakura and Ino's dorm, it would then be Naruto and Sasuke's dorm. And, after that, Kiba's dorm. He shared his room with some quiet guy named Shino—Sakura decided that the stick up his ass was probably even bigger than Sasuke's—and very often, during these times, they didn't even do homework.

Well, Sakura and Sasuke did. Ino did, too, sometimes. But not really.

So, because Sakura and Sasuke had finished their assignments on Saturday, they took great pleasure in watching the other three attempting to cram their, as Kiba put it, shitload of homework.

While typing up another e-mail to Lee, she thought it'd be considerate of her to write something longer, considering that his were often hell to read, since they never ended. So, tuning out the complaints of her friends, she typed for fifteen minutes straight.

And after rereading said e-mail, she couldn't help but gag at how fake she sounded.

Maybe she should just quit replying to him. He doesn't really expect anything from her, anyway. But she'd feel bad if she just suddenly stopped showing signs of life.

"The female mind astounds me." Sasuke's voice probed her thoughts, and she turned towards him. They were both sitting on the floor with their backs against Shino's bed. The resident of said bed was nowhere to be seen—he was never seen anywhere.

He had been reading over her shoulder again. Nosy bastard.

Nosy bastard with a stick shoved up his ass.

She shrugged. "I think it's just _my_ mind. I don't think like other girls, if you haven't noticed, yet."

He was playing around with his phone, and, like her, Sakura knew he was bored out of his mind. There was absolutely nothing to do in this little room at all.

He cocked an eyebrow. "Enlighten me."

A laugh escaped her lips. "I'd rather not, thanks. It's too complicated."

Sasuke surveyed the room, and then Kiba, Ino, and Naruto. "I suggest we leave and do something productive with our lives."

It was her turn to raise her eyebrows. "I didn't think you were the type of person to suggest _that_." Usually, it was the other way around; the both of them staying in and working on homework, while the other three went off and did some partying.

Well, not that they'd party _now_, but getting out of the room certainly counted for something, right?

"I think anywhere is quieter than in here."

She chuckled, glancing at Naruto and Kiba, who were fighting over a pen, with Ino screaming at them at the top of her lungs. "I suppose. Shall we go?"

"Gladly."

Their friends' voices could be heard all the way down the hall, but by the time they made it to the cafeteria, it was blissfully silent. They sat down at their usual table, relishing the peace for a short while.

"Tell me about him."

Sakura looked up at him, surprised that he would even initiate a conversation. "About who?"

"The boyfriend you e-mail every day."

She narrowed her eyes in mock suspicion. "And you care about this, why?"

He stared at her. "If you seriously want me to go and strike up a conversation with those girls on the other side of the room to relieve my boredom, I'll do it." Glancing over to the right where he jabbed his thumb towards, she wasn't surprised to find a small group of girls whispering furiously and giggling, while very obviously looking in their direction.

And Sakura was sure they weren't giggling over her.

"You wouldn't do it, anyway," she said, rolling her eyes. When he challenged her with a raise of his eyebrows, she laughed. She didn't mind telling him, anyway. Everybody knew already. "He's just this guy who's liked me ever since seventh grade. Last year, I thought I'd cut him some slack and go out with him for a while."

"You're weird," she heard him mutter under his breath. She chose to ignore it.

"Yeah, well, he knew that I didn't really feel the same way, so he he decided to prove to me how much he cares. I totally got the message engraved in my mind after about two days, but I don't think he understands that I won't return the feelings." She shrugged.

"So you're not going to end it?"

She ran a hand through her hair. "I'd feel guilty. He really does try, after all."

"You're leading him on."

"I'm hoping he'll take the hint after a while. It's only been about half a year, anyway." She was astounded that she was actually having a decent conversation with Uchiha Sasuke. These things were usually proved to be impossible.

She supposed that was what boredom did to them all.

"And you aren't finding any other boy you're interested in?"

"As I mentioned before, Sasuke, I'm not really your typical girl. After seeing how Ino gets treated by guys once in a while, I think I'm going to be real picky when it comes to guys."

A smirk met his lips, and she prepared herself for being made fun of. "You're never going to know what it's like."

She shrugged. "I won't die. I'm perfectly content with life as it is, now."

"You'll never be kissed, and you'll die a virgin."

"And what about you?" she shot back mockingly. "With that stick shoved up your ass, I doubt you can be in _any_ type of relationship that lasts longer than one night."

Their eyes locked in a staring contest, and both refused to back down. His eyes were dark, and awfully entrancing…_She_ wouldn't mind having some of that.

She mentally slapped herself.

He finally broke their gaze, intertwining his fingers with each other and resting his chin on them. "Do you really think that, Sakura? That I can't get a girl to stay with me for more than one night?"

"A girl that isn't a fan of yours," she corrected herself. "Because, God knows that they only like you because you're apparently really good-looking. Someone who didn't care about appearances wouldn't put up with your shit for more than a day."

"And, yet, you put up with this so-called 'shit'."

"Because I'm not obligated to be romantically involved with you in any way." She rolled her eyes. God, what an egotistical bastard. Why did she sympathize for him, again?

There was a long, tense silence, where they glared at each other venomously.

And, then, she ruined it by bursting into a fit of giggles.

"I'm sorry," she said once she noticed Sasuke's inquiring expression. "I don't think I've had an argument like that for a while. Naruto, Ino, and Kiba's logic usually doesn't line up with mine."

He gave her a curt nod. "Right."

And it seemed like that stick up his ass started to bother him again.

* * *

At breakfast the next morning, their three friends looked about ten times worse than Sakura and Sasuke did.

"Did you guys manage to finish everything?" she asked Ino, who looked ready to fall asleep face-first on her French toast.

"At four-thirty in the morning, yeah," Naruto groaned. "Kiba left a little after midnight to copy off someone, though. Lucky bastard," he added under his breath. "I wish I could learn as well as he did."

"Oi, _Pig_," Sakura said loudly, flicking the forehead of her friend. "Do you really want maple syrup in your hair?"

"Shit," she said, horrified. "Okay, okay. I'm awake, now. Thanks." Wearily picking the plastic fork and knife from her tray, she began to eat. Slowly. "So, what'd you guys do after you left? I totally didn't notice you were gone until about eleven."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Thanks. We were just talking. Nothing to do, really, on a Sunday night."

Ino sent her a mock glare. "I thought I told you _I_ was going to get to him first, Forehead." Said glare disappeared and a giggle escaped her lips when Kiba did _something_ to her under the table. "Y'know, just kidding."

She stared at her cereal dismally. "Guess who has a Biology test today that she didn't really study for?"

Naruto waved it off. "Guess who always aces Bio without even trying?"

She ran a hand through her hair. "But this isn't high school anymore! I can't just pass the course without getting the best I can!"

"And what do you usually get? Nineties? Ninety-fives? Yeah, I thought so."

She was tempted to chuck her orange juice at his face. "Sometimes, I like one hundreds on my test papers, thank you."

Just then, they all noticed another presence approaching the table. All of them (Sasuke excluded) turned towards a girl who was holding something behind her back. Her long brown hair was tied in two loose pigtails, and her cheeks were tinted pink.

Everyone knew what _that_ was about.

The girl shuffled towards Sasuke, who continued to chew his toast. "Uh, Sasuke-kun…" It was a long moment before he even looked at her. "I was wondering if…you could take this…" Her voice got quieter as she spoke, and she held out a small letter in a flowery envelope in her shaking hands.

That was the third one in the past week who had the guts to approach him herself to deliver a love letter. Of course, Sakura wasn't counting the ones that just walked up, trying to seduce him.

Although they never succeeded, either.

Sasuke glanced at the letter. "No."

Everyone cringed at his harsh response. It was like this every time, but just seeing each fan girl stumble away with tears brimming in her eyes was never a pretty sight.

"Why don't you just take it?" Sakura asked, watching as the girl returned to her own table of friends and received a round of sympathetic hugs.

"Why should I?" He looked at her, and she rolled her eyes.

"Because then, maybe, you wouldn't hurt so many people. It's not as though they really expect you to go out with them if you accept a gift or two."

He glanced down at his tray. After finishing his toast, he gathered his things and stood up. "It's annoying." Dumping his tray in the nearby garbage can, he left the cafeteria, no doubt for his Psychology class.

"Someone's got a stick shoved up his ass," she muttered under her breath.

Ino watched her for a short moment before beginning to laugh. And, at her, no doubt.

But Sakura had no idea why.

* * *

Sasuke made his way to Psychology class, ignoring all of the girls (and even some of the female teachers) who shamelessly raped him with their eyes.

Day in, day out. Always the same. He hated it.

And, maybe that was why he was called emo and angsty sometimes. Tch.

Dropping his bag carelessly to the floor, he pulled back his chair and sat down, intertwining his fingers together and resting his chin on them. His partner was already there, ready to bother him. Again.

He bet twenty bucks that if he wasn't the one sitting beside her, she'd be skip class more than half the time.

"Hey, Sasuke-kuuun," she dragged out, pulling her chair closer to him.

"Hn."

"Did you finish the homework? Because I don't understand it at all."

He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. Low-cut shirt, miniskirt, and a caked face.

Ew.

"Hn."

"Would you mind explaining it to me?" Without even waiting for an answer, she pulled out the worksheets that they had to fill out. And, unlike his friends' History homework, these things just needed to be copied out of the textbook. Fill in the blank. Word for word, off of the pages.

He looked at her for a long time, and he thought that maybe he saw a blush creeping to her cheeks under all of that cover-up. He supposed he could help. He had a reputation to maintain, after all.

So he took his textbook from his bag, and began to explain.

And it was _so_ obvious that she wasn't even trying to listen, because she spent half of the time undressing him with her eyes, and shoving her chest in his face. At least, from this angle, he could tell that she stuffed her bra.

Because, hey, if people were going to let him look, he was going to look.

* * *

"I vote getting smashed tonight!" Ino cried, raising her hand at dinner.

"It's Monday," Sakura pointed out. "You won't be able to get out of bed tomorrow."

Her blonde friend shrugged. "All of the homework I have is due Wednesday and later—you know, projects. I don't have to do any of it tonight. Kiba, Naruto—you guys want to join me?"

"Obviously." Her boyfriend grinned before stealing a kiss from her.

Sakura nearly gagged from the excessive PDA.

Naruto groaned before stuffing his face with pudding. "Can't, man. Got a reading and summary to do. You guys have fun, though." And then he added as an afterthought, "I thought college was supposed to be the best years of our lives!"

"That's what they said about high school, dobe." Everyone turned towards Sasuke. Whenever there was a time he contributed to the conversation, they always listened; it was so rare, after all.

The blonde male waved it off. "Well, now we can drink and it'll be legal. It's a little different."

Sakura snorted into her drink. As if getting completely wasted on a normal basis was healthy, anyway. By taking Bio-Chem as a major, she had learnt how bad ethanol could be for you. And the long-term effects were actually pretty brutal and nasty.

"Be right back," Ino suddenly announced. "I have to pee."

And one of those effects was a weak bladder.

* * *

Sakura groaned, and was about to bash her head into the screen of her MacBook.

"Don't get cranky over an e-mail from your boyfriend," Naruto told her, releasing a groan of his own. "At this rate, I might as well fail college."

"But he's asking to see me the next free weekend I have," she whined. "I don't _want_ to see him." It was pretty mean of her to say something like that, but, honestly, spending time in public with a person who wears all green, has bushy eyebrows and a bowl-cut didn't give her a very good appearance.

Not that she really cared about appearances.

"Say, like, the only time you have free is during Christmas, then." Naruto shrugged. "Spend a day with him, or something."

"Don't think you're getting out of this unscathed," she warned. "He wants to see you guys, too."

He shrugged. "Sure. I don't really mind; he's not too bad."

"Because you're not a girl." She cringed. "Because you're not me." When she looked up at him, she saw him nodding towards Sasuke. She turned to her left, where he sat, the both of them leaning against her bed. "What?"

"He's curious. Wants to hear about Lee."

She rolled her eyes. "Only you're able to tell what's on his mind."

"Just show him a picture. One's worth a thousand words, after all."

And so Sakura went through her files, found a scanned picture of her and her boyfriend, and turned her MacBook so Sasuke could take a peek.

He sort of blanched, in his own Sasuke-ish way.

"When are you going to meet him?" he asked as he wrote down an answer for their World Literature homework. He worked a lot faster than she did, she noted. She was only one quarter through.

"I don't know, yet. Why?"

"So I can make sure I'm busy that day."

There was a long silence. Then, Naruto said solemnly, "He just made a joke, Sakura-chan. Laugh."

**

* * *

**

**A/N: **Uhm, I have an LJ, and I lack friends. The link's on the top of my page. Add me?

Yeah. The more I write this, the worse it sort of seems to me. But I'll probably finish it, though—I'm writing chapter ten right now, anyway.


	3. and sometimes,

**sticks and stones  
**iii. and, sometimes,

* * *

"Ugh, hangover…" Ino groaned the next morning, hauling herself out of bed. Sakura was already dressed, ready to head to the communal bathroom to take care of her facial appearance. "I'm dead tired…"

"Told you so, Pig," she said smugly. "How was it last night?"

"Got separated from Kiba on the way back." The blonde trudged over to her closet, looking for something to wear. "Didn't really notice, though, 'cause I was so smashed." She groaned, and almost ran into the wall. "_Fuck_, I need some Starbucks."

And because Sakura was such a good friend, she helped her pick out an outfit, helped her walk to the bathroom, back to their room, and down to breakfast.

"Venti Caffé Mocha," she announced as she returned to their table, placing down the cardboard cup next to Ino, who had her head buried in her arms. "Kiba's still not here yet?" Knowing him, he would probably be skipping class if he hadn't arrived by this time.

Naruto munched on his croissant delightedly. "Man, I went to bed at two last night, but somehow, I feel so refreshed!"

"Probably because you woke up knowing that you're done all of your homework," she said sarcastically in response.

"He was snoring like a wild boar," Sasuke commented, at which she couldn't help but giggle. "I couldn't sleep for hours."

"Oi, teme, that's just 'cause you're such a freakin' light sleeper!"

And cue the entrance of another fangirl. Sakura found that there were more and more of them, now—or maybe it was just getting later into the school year, and more of them had gathered their courage to confess. Or something like that, she supposed. She didn't really know.

Although, she decided that she wouldn't feel bad when _this_ particular girl got rejected. She wasn't the typical shy, quiet girl.

Nah. A typical shy, quiet girl wouldn't wear a skimpy outfit like that.

Not that Sakura really made assumptions like that.

"Sasuke-kun," she said to him, placing a hand on her hip and surveying their table before scoffing slightly. "Don't you think we should work on that partner assignment now? It's due this afternoon, and we haven't even discussed it, yet."

Sakura rolled her eyes and took out her phone, texting Lee when this fangirl of Sasuke's shot her a glare, as if she didn't deserve sitting beside him during meals.

Sasuke lifted up his bag from the floor and rummaged through it. After a moment, he pulled out a booklet of stapled paper, and handed it to her. "Here. I finished it last night. Just look over it so you know what we're talking about when we present."

And after a long moment, she took the paper. "Thanks," she said uncertainly. "But weren't we supposed to do it together?"

"Considering that you don't understand anything, it would be much more efficient for me to do all of the work until you're able to grasp the concepts."

She heard Ino snicker under her breath, and she couldn't help but giggle a little, too. But, at least she was kind enough to pretend she received an amusing text.

There was another pause. "Right. Thanks." And the distinct click-click of her heels faded away.

The table was quiet for a moment, before Naruto burst out, "Hey, who the hell was that hot chick?"

"Psychology partner." Sasuke didn't seem the slightest bit fazed.

Ino scowled. "Are you _blind_, Naruto? She had more makeup on her face than a dog has fur." And as an afterthought, she added, "And her boobs are kind of lumpy. Did you see it, Forehead?"

"Hm?" Sakura flipped her phone shut and placed it back in her pocket. "Nah, I didn't look."

"She stuffs," Sasuke confirmed.

They all stared. He stared back.

He shrugged indifferently. "Anyone with eyes can tell."

"She probably goes through the effort to show you, too," Ino chirped. "If you're going to do it, at least do it right. She brings disgrace to the female race." Shaking her head sadly, she downed the rest of her latte. "Good. At least I can think coherently now. Caffeine really helps hangovers."

"What are you all talking about?" Naruto shouted, throwing his hands elaborately in the air. "She was fuckin' _hot_!"

"Then you're blind," the other blonde told him.

"I think that explains why he wears orange t-shirts with blue shorts." Sakura laughed. "You should get your eyes checked, Naruto."

"God dammit, I'm not blind!"

"Colorblind, then."

He pouted before throwing an unused plastic knife at her face. And missed.

* * *

Much to all of their surprise, Kiba arrived in the middle of their Culinary Arts class (that Naruto and Ino had managed to drag everyone into taking as an elective).

"What happened to you?" Ino asked finally, giving him a quick peck as he passed her and Sakura's counter. The red and white striped dress shirt he wore was half tucked into his loose-fitting jeans, and he still had his bed hair. "You could've skipped today."

"I have soccer call-backs today, though," he muttered into her hair as they shared a momentary embrace. "Didn't make it in the first time."

That reminded Sakura's conversation with Naruto during the tryouts. She glanced over to the next counter over, where said blonde and his childhood friend worked on their apple pie together.

"What the hell are you doing, teme?"

"Peeling and cutting the apples so we can arrange them in the pan."

"Don't we just smash them and stuff it in?"

"No."

It kind of seemed surreal to her, and at the same time, not. Sasuke didn't have any parents waiting for him at home…

"Did Sasuke make it in?" she asked Kiba before he left to grab an apron and head over to his own counter with a lazy boy named Shikamaru.

He rolled his eyes. "Obviously."

This little piece of news made her smile.

Approximately forty-five minutes later, the entire room smelled of apple pie. Sakura smiled in satisfaction as Ino brought theirs out of their oven with a large pair of oven mitts on. It didn't look too bad.

And at the next counter over, Naruto stared dismally at a pie that was half black. Sasuke looked at it blankly for a long moment, before scoffing and beginning to clean up their supplies.

"I don't get it, Sasuke-teme. What'd I do wrong?"

"Set the heat ten degrees too high."

Naruto glanced at the instructions on the board, and the heat settings he had punched in on their oven. Then he groaned. "This sucks, man."

"You guys can have some of ours," Sakura offered. "It's not like Ino and I can finish this, anyway. It's fattening, apparently." Hearing this, their blonde male friend perked up again, and all but bounded to their counter and inhaling their pie's scent.

Ino cringed. "Ew. Back off, Naruto. You're going to drool all over it, or something."

After cutting the pie into eight equal pieces, Sakura placed one slice on a paper plate and offered it to Sasuke. After glancing at it for a moment, and back at her, he shook his head. "I don't like sweets."

She stared at him. "You're crazy."

"Eat it yourself."

So she ate it, albeit grudgingly. On the contrary, she thought it wasn't sweet _enough_.

* * *

"Oi, Naruto," Ino hissed to the boy sitting beside her, who was doodling in his notebook while the History teacher at the front of the class was presenting to them some notes.

"What?" He sounded so utterly bored that he was going to drop dead at any given moment.

"Have you noticed something with Sasuke and Sakura?"

He scratched his head. "I don't think so. Why?"

She huffed. "One full week of college has passed, and they haven't been to a single party."

"But they were always like that." Naruto shrugged. "Kind of hopeless, really, once you think about it."

"I suggest we loosen them up."

Interest spared in his eyes, and his grip on his pen tightened, ready to take some _real_ notes. "And how do you want to go about doing that?"

She shrugged. "Well, they aren't going to go anywhere when sober, so I was thinking we could loosen them up, first. Y'know, spike a drink or two. Then maybe I can get a little dancing done with Sasuke."

He grinned. "Deal."

* * *

"Turn it _off_," Sakura groaned as Ino jammed to some recently popular song on Naruto's bed. The radio blasted, and she honestly wondered how nobody pounded on their door to tell them to shut up.

"You need to loosen up, Sakura," her friend chastised. "You and Sasuke don't even know how to have fun."

"At least I get good grades and do my homework." She rolled her eyes.

"Hey, shut up. I actually finished one of my projects, okay?"

She rolled her eyes. "Right." After a moment, she nudged Sasuke with an elbow. "Hey, how many plays did Shakespeare write?"

The answer was immediate. She sort of admired him that way. "Thirty-eight."

"And sonnets?"

"Find the answer yourself."

"It's just a number. I'll learn it as soon as I hear it."

"One hundred fifty-four."

"Thanks." After looking at the next question, she sighed. She supposed Sasuke wouldn't remind her what a sonnet was. Irritably, she flipped through her World Literature textbook. Just as she began to write, her MacBook beeped, signalling a new instant message.

It was probably Lee. She could ignore it for now; they'd been talking for the past half hour, already. And she was on the last question of her homework…

"Man, you guys really don't act like a real couple." Ino shoved her way in between Sakura and her MacBook and skimming through their conversation. "Have you even said 'I love you' to each other, yet?"

"Sorry," she muttered to Sasuke when he grunted, having her bump into him from Ino's intrusion.

Actually, it was kind of comfortable leaning against him like that.

"The last time I checked, we weren't a real couple," she retorted at her female friend. "He kind of stopped the confessions of love after the first month, when I never said I loved him back."

It seemed that curiosity overtook the boy she was squished against, and he glanced at her laptop screen, dark eyes quickly skimming over their conversation before returning to his work. It was only a moment later that he shut his textbook and packed away his materials. He was done his homework before her. Again.

Ino rolled her eyes. "You're hopeless."

"Thanks." After filling out the last question for World Literature, she dropped her pen onto the floor, changing the subject. "So, where's Kiba?"

"Soccer call-backs. Remember?"

She blinked. "Oh, right. Sorry; I forgot. Oh, and by the way, Sasuke," she turned towards the quiet boy she was pressed against, "congratulations on making the team."

"Hn." It was his own way of saying thanks. "Kiba doesn't have call-backs today."

Both girls glanced at him inquisitively. "Why?"

"He already made the team. His name was on the list when I checked."

All was silent, save for the blasting radio and Naruto's snoring. And it was only nine-thirty, too.

Ino's hands left Sakura's MacBook, and she sat back, allowing for her to move away from Sasuke. "Oh," she said, tone suddenly a lot damper than before. "Well, he probably had something else to do, then. Maybe he's planning for our five month-anniversary?"

Sakura rolled her eyes. "He doesn't _celebrate_ month-anniversaries, Pig."

And she soon realized that she had said something awfully wrong.

* * *

Ino was beginning to think something was wrong with her.

First, their apple pie in Culinary Arts wasn't sweet enough. And this double chocolate chip ice cream wasn't sweet enough, either.

Maybe it was that Caffé Mocha she had this morning. Everything was fine until she had _that_.

Sighing heavily, she turned in bed for the umpteenth time that night. She watched Sakura's sleeping figure on the other side of the room, rising and falling steadily to her breathing.

How does she deal with Lee? She never even gets to see him anymore, and yet, she isn't worried about a thing.

_Well, maybe that's because she doesn't really care about him,_ a voice in the back of her mind snapped. _Unlike you, who actually wants to know where your boyfriend is most of the time._

Just one lie about soccer call-backs doesn't really prove anything. It _shouldn't_ really prove anything.

She would like to think that, but she was beginning to sense the beginning symptoms of an unfaithful boyfriend.

Why did these things always happen to her?

* * *

Anko grinned in a way Sasuke didn't like as she tossed a marked rubric onto their table. "Good presentation, you two," she commented in a sickeningly sweet manner. "Next time, Uchiha-san, let Fukuzawa-san do part of the work, okay?"

He didn't even look up at her. "Okay."

His Psychology partner—Fukuzawa. He must remember that—snatched the rubric and clicked her tongue. "Wow, working with you is great," she cooed, leaning over to him and very obviously resulting in some much unneeded physical contact. "We got ninety."

"Tch." Ninety was rather low in comparison to what he usually got, but whatever. It was probably because he did all of the work, anyway.

As Anko began her lecture of the day, Fukuzawa ripped a piece of paper out of her notebook and scribbled something on it, before sliding it over to his side of the table. He glanced at it, reading it in less than a second.

_So, do you have a girlfriend?_

As if it could get any blunter than that. Ignoring it, he returned his attention to the front of the room.

That was, until she nudged him once. Twice. Thrice.

So he took a pen and scribbled something effortlessly on it, letting her take it back herself.

_None of your business._

She wrote something else, and passed it back. He couldn't help but admire for a moment how his writing was so much more elegant than hers. And that was something, considering that he was male.

Or maybe he just had some feminine traits.

Yeah, right.

_Well, there are only two girls that you have meals with, and that Yamanaka girl is taken. What about the one with pink hair? Are you going out with her?_

And he underlined his previous statement, refusing to even rewrite it because it wasn't worth the effort.

_None of your business._

_Come on, don't be like that._

He felt like snapping at her out of frustration because he couldn't even concentrate on what Anko was talking about—although he could probably learn it all from the textbook—but he wouldn't do that. Uchiha Sasuke was just known for being impassive. Not for being angry.

So he answered her.

_I'm single._

He could just feel the victory radiating from her (kind of gross—okay, completely gross) face.

_Say, would you like to go on a date this Friday night?_

His answer was immediate. It was something he liked about himself; everything was already decided and worked out in his head.

_No._

**

* * *

**

**A/N: **I'm still on chapter ten, haha. I'm trying to wrap this up before I drag it on for too long—then I'll never finish it. I'm beginning to dislike this more and more. But, I started it, so I suppose I should finish it. It's my first AU, so…whatever. Gives me some experience. XD

Readers and writers need to communicate via reviews and review replies. Fo sho.


	4. they didn’t get along—

**sticks and stones**  
iv. they didn't get along—

* * *

Sakura complained.

Sasuke grunted.

Naruto cheered.

Ino persisted.

"Come on, Sasuke and I have this super long reading due on Monday," Sakura complained as the group of four made their way slowly out of campus. "You guys go; I'm going to stay."

"Agreed," Sasuke said automatically.

"You guys are such sore asses," Naruto told them, rolling his eyes. "It's just _one night_. You have Saturday and Sunday to do it!"

"Soccer practice Saturday afternoons."

"It's only two hours."

"Whatever, dobe."

"_Anyway_," Ino cleared her throat, "we're going out for pizza, and heading over to the club. Alright?" She proceeded to latch herself onto Sakura's arm, and Naruto onto Sasuke's.

And much to both of their displeasure, they were dragged away.

* * *

"Say, where's Kiba?" Sakura asked, taking a bite out of her slice of Hawaiian pizza.

Sitting across the table from her, Ino let out a huff. "Don't know. Don't care."

She cocked an eyebrow. "What's wrong? Did you guys get into a fight?" She was _always_ like this when it came to boys. There was nothing else, really, that could bring her down this way.

"I'm pretty sure we're about to."

"Why?"

"I bet you he's cheating on me."

Naruto, who was sitting beside her and babbling loudly about something to Sasuke, fell silent.

Sakura was the first to speak again. "What makes you think that?" She glanced at the pizza in her hand, suddenly losing her appetite. Those pineapples just didn't look as sweet anymore…

Ino rolled her eyes. "That night we went to the party, and we got separated. Both of us were drunk as hell—he probably went and fucked some other chick." She paused. "And liked it."

"But that's just a possibility," Naruto reasoned. "You don't really have any proof."

"This is Kiba we're talking about. It's kind of obvious. He was going out with someone else when he met me. I think he decided that I was prettier than her, so he dumped her for me."

Sakura sipped at her water. "That's…kind of really bad. Why'd you go out with him when you knew?"

The blonde took a particularly large bite of pizza, and said through the mouthful, "Because I liked him."

People would think that Ino dated guys for looks and popularity. But that wasn't always the case, if ever, and only Sakura and Naruto—and soon, Sasuke—really knew that. She had some crazy logic about liking mean guys, because then, when she finally got them to care, it would mean so much more.

Or something like that. Sakura didn't really understand it.

"So, what are you going to do?" she asked, swatting Naruto's hand when it reached across the table to take her slice of pizza.

"What? You haven't touched it for two minutes!"

Ino sighed. "I don't know. He's probably going to break it off with me, but I don't want to be the one getting dumped."

"But there's the small chance that he might not be cheating," the pink-haired girl said, voicing out her best friend's thoughts.

Suddenly, Naruto's hand shot up in the air. "I suggest we stalk him and find out what he's up to!"

They all stared at him.

Sasuke was the first to recover. "Propose that idea again when we know we won't get sued."

Ino chewed on her food thoughtfully. "For once, that's actually not too bad of an idea. You guys can all report back to me, because I sure as hell am not going."

Naruto frowned. "Why not?"

"If there really isn't anything going on, then he'll accuse me of not trusting him." It didn't need to be said that, in truth, she didn't trust him at all.

Sakura rolled her eyes. "I'm not going to stalk your boyfriend for you just to figure out if he's cheating on you or not." She could think of many other—and better—things to do. Like that World Literature reading that she _should_ be doing right now, if not for her two blonde friends.

"I'd do it for _you_."

"But I wouldn't need, or want you to do it for me."

"It's decided!" Naruto looked way too enthusiastic about this, she noted. "We'll go over the details once we get back."

Pause.

"Dobe," she heard Sasuke mutter under his breath.

* * *

"I thought we're minors?" Sakura asked when they approached the bar. She was already devising a plan to just get the hell out of there when the opportunity arose. There was no way she was hanging around a place with alcohol, drunkards, and dirty dancing.

"I've got connections." Ino winked at them. Getting closer, she watched at a person standing at the front door.

Was that person male or female? Because, from this distance, she _really_ couldn't tell.

"Hey, Neji!"

The person nodded, opening the door for them. As they passed, she glanced at him out of the corner of her eye.

Okay, male.

It was probably one of the most high-class clubs that Ino had ever dragged her to. It looked relatively clean, it didn't reek completely of smoke and drugs, and maybe it would be kind of bearable, if she wasn't able to run away.

Sakura sidled up to Sasuke. "Want to make an escape route?"

"Not worth the effort. I'll just sit through it."

And so it began. Ino and Naruto drank, and Sasuke and Sakura sat. They watched the people dance, and felt as it noticeably became warmer and warmer. Their two blonde friends, beginning to get tipsy, bought two more drinks and shoved them at them.

"Drink," the both of them demanded, voices somewhat slurred.

Sasuke rejected immediately, but Sakura pulled her glass towards herself in speculation. It was orange, and had an umbrella and cherry on top…It looked kind of good, actually. Not the least bit harmfully alcoholic.

So she took a sip.

And Sasuke stared, giving her his impassive betrayed look.

"Actually…" She took another sip out of the straw, the taste of mango resting on her tongue. "This isn't too bad. I can barely taste alcohol. Why don't you try yours, Sasuke?" His was exactly the same.

He continued to stare at her. And he blinked once.

"Just a little," she urged.

So he took the straw between his lips, and drank a little.

She smiled lightly, watching Ino and Naruto's face beam with pride and bounding off to the dance floor. "See, now you don't have to please them anymore."

"It's too sweet."

She rolled her eyes. "Only you would say that." Continuing to sit there, slowly consuming her fruity drink. She had never really drunk before, but if it was like this and barely affected her, she supposed it would be alright once in a while.

Half an hour passed. One hour. One and a half.

The colorful lights blared, and the music blasted. Checking her watch, Sakura found that it was nearing midnight. She was ready to sleep.

Pushing her now empty glass away from her, she crossed her arms on the table and laid her forehead on them, facing Sasuke. In the semi-darkness, the colors splayed across his pale skin wasn't too bad of a sight—especially the way it enhanced his dark hair…

Feeling her watching him, he shifted his gaze so it locked with hers. Smiling, she hiccupped once.

He rolled his eyes. "Obviously you can't handle alcohol well."

She shook her head. "Not really that. I can still think clearly, I swear. I'm sober. Not even tipsy. Yeah." She reached out across the table and took his almost untouched drink, taking a sip before lying down again. "I want to sleep…"

"Don't. I'm not going to carry three unconscious bodies back to campus."

She giggled. "I wonder what kind of sight that would make…"

"My reputation would plummet downwards."

"I don't even know how you maintain that reputation of yours. You don't talk unless spoken to, and you're only kind of open around us. You emit this completely cold aura. The only good thing I could notice about you the first time I met you was how hot you were."

He raised an eyebrow at her. "You said you weren't the typical girl, though."

"I'm not. But I suppose why someone would like you after they get to know you. But at first sight…" She wrinkled her nose. "You always act as if there's a stick shoved up your ass."

"Are you implying something?" He looked away, now, the bottom half of his face hidden behind his intertwined fingers.

"Mm, not really. I think Ino might go after you after Kiba dumps her, though." She closed her eyes, sighing wistfully when the music in the background began to quiet down.

"That's kind of disturbing."

At this, she giggled and hiccupped again. "Do you think she has fun? With dating and boys, I mean." She could still see the flashing lights through her eyelids.

"Who knows."

"It kind of makes me wonder what it'd be like to be with someone I really like…not just with someone like Lee." Despite her best efforts, a yawn escaped her lips. "I'm never going to be kissed, and I'm going to die a virgin, probably…"

He chuckled. "I thought you didn't mind."

"I suppose I don't, really. But…I don't know. It makes me wonder." She paused. "Shit, Sasuke. Keep on talking to me, or I'm going to fall asleep."

"Just face it, you're tipsy."

"I'm not! I don't know how well I can hold alcohol, but one drink isn't going to sway me."

She heard a faint snort. Or maybe she just imagined it. "Right."

There was a pause, but it was brief. "Sakura, wake up. I'm not towing both Naruto _and_ Ino." Groggily, she raised her head to find their two blonde friends stumbling over, looking particularly buzzed and tired.

She rubbed the sleep from her eyes. "You guys ready to leave?"

Ino giggled. "Naruto just got turned down by some random chick. It was really funny."

"That's expected. I wouldn't say yes to someone wearing a bright orange t-shirt with jeans, either." She snuck at glance at Sasuke's drink and stole another swallow before pushing her chair back and making her way to Ino. She pulled her friend's arm around her shoulders and wrapped her other arm securely around her waist. "Come on, let's go."

Sasuke did the same to Naruto, and they left, bidding that Neji boy (boy, not girl, she reminded herself groggily) goodnight before making their way slowly back to campus.

"I want…strawberries," Ino subconsciously mumbled from beside Sakura. And, honestly, she thought that was one of the most random things she had heard her friend say.

"I want whipped cream!" Naruto spontaneously shouted in response to her, causing Sasuke to start slightly in surprise.

"Strawberries and whipped cream together is good…"

"With pickles on top."

"Yeah…"

Sakura made eye contact with her sober friend, and exchanged incredulous expressions.

* * *

"Mm…" Ino took a particularly large drink of her coffee as she sat across from Naruto. The cafeteria was near empty, due to the fact that it was ten in the morning on Saturday, and people were most likely sleeping in. "D'you think Sasuke and Sakura were really tired from carrying us back last night?"

Naruto shrugged. "Probably." He had a large cup of coffee in front of him as well. "I don't remember a thing."

She giggled. "Me neither."

"Teme was out like a light when I woke up this morning. Don't even know what happened to him."

"Well, Forehead finished her drink, and I'm pretty sure Sasuke's was empty, too…Maybe that finally taught those two to loosen up." Ino sighed, feeling her hangover ebb away little by little—but not fast enough, by any means. "I was thinking we could spike their drinks tonight. After they're finished that reading, or whatever."

"What about stalking Kiba?" At her friend's innocent question, she felt a pang in her chest. Did she really want to know what was up with him? She wasn't sure.

She waved a hand. "We'll deal with him later. Our friends come first."

Naruto's grin was bright, and she couldn't help but smile as well. His cheerful attitude was ridiculously contagious. "Alright. So, let's do our homework after Sasuke's soccer practice. That'll give us time to watch them party it up tonight, right?"

"Plenty."

* * *

Sakura's eyes opened very slowly, and she found herself staring at the ceiling of her dorm.

She laid there for a long while. Her body felt extra sluggish today. It was probably the drinks from last night. Finally, she heaved a heavy sigh before hauling herself out of bed.

"Ino, time to wake up." But when she looked over to the other side of the room, she found it empty. In fact, the room was much brighter than it should be at this time of day. The sun was extra strong today, or something.

She glanced at the clock, and her eyes nearly bugged out of her head.

_11:30?_

"Shit!" She had totally missed breakfast with her friends. If Ino woke up before her, she could at least do the favor of waking her up as well. Some friend she was.

She snapped out of her reverie when a knock sounded at the door. Shuffling dejectedly in her slippers, she opened it a slither to meet with the dark gaze of Sasuke's. "Oh, it's you." She pulled the door open wider. "Morning." He was dressed in casual wear; jeans and a navy t-shirt.

She blinked when his eyes ran over her. A blush immediately spread to her cheeks when she realized an incredibly hot boy was checking her out while she was still in her pajamas, hair mussed, and most likely bags under her eyes. It always happened when she slept in—she never really knew why.

"Morning."

Pause. She swallowed, and attempted to comb through some locks of her hair. "Er…I suppose Naruto ditched you, too?"

"Yeah. Would you like me to wait outside?"

A faint smile reached her lips. "That'd be great. Thanks. I'll be out in around ten." And without further ado, she shut the door in his face.

Her heart beat a little harder than it should as she messily ran a brush through her hair and randomly chose a shirt and sweater to go with her jeans. She wasn't like Ino; it didn't take long for her to find something to wear.

After placing a hair band on her head, rushing to the communal bathroom to brush her teeth and wash her face, she was ready.

"Sorry I took so long," she mumbled.

He shrugged and began walking in the direction of the cafeteria. "Breakfast or lunch?"

"I don't know. Brunch?"

"Sure."

It was somewhat chilly as they stepped out of the dorm building and headed to the main building. Sakura brought up her hands and blew on them, in attempt to keep them warm.

Is was then that Sasuke nudged her with his elbow and stopped walking. She raised her eyebrow in question. Nodding in a certain direction with a hint of humor laced into his tone, he said, "Look."

She turned her head and saw a park bench.

Okay, a park bench. Not that big of a deal.

And then she saw Kiba sitting on the park bench.

Alright. Kiba sitting on a park bench wasn't that big of a deal, either. He wasn't with Ino, though—that was something to note.

And then she saw the girl he was…doing things to.

Okay, now _that_ was a big deal.

Her best friend's boyfriend was whispering things into the unidentified girl's name, one of his large hands on her thigh. _Way_ up her thigh. The unidentified girl—tentatively named UG—giggled as she raised a hand to her lips, looking dainty.

It looked like they didn't even need to spy on him anymore.

"Hey, Sasuke, snap a picture." She nudged her friend's ribcage. "So we can show Ino-pig later."

He grunted. "You take it."

"C'mon, it's just one picture. And my phone can't zoom in, anyway. Now hurry up, before ne notices us!" Panic began to grow in her stomach, and she grabbed his arm, shaking it roughly. Kiba brought UG into a kiss, closing his eyes. Okay, so they were safe for the moment.

"Waste of time," she heard Sasuke mutter before pulling out his phone.

Someone's got a stick shoved up his ass.

When all was said and done, she impatiently tugged at his arm down the walkway into the building before they were seen. He pocketed his phone before shoving his hands in his pockets as well and walking along in a relaxed manner.

"Walk _faster_!" she hissed, pulling harshly and drawing another grunt from him.

"Maybe we wouldn't have to if your hair wasn't so blindingly bright," he said calmly, speeding up his pace a little. A _little_.

"Just…hurry up," she finished lamely. "Or does that stick up your ass bother you too much?"

She could've sworn he glared at her without the use of his eyes.

* * *

"Pig!" Ino looked up, head clear from her sixth cup of coffee. She and Naruto were just outlining how to spike Sakura and Sasuke's drinks, since they were both so damn clever. Naruto quickly swiped the paper from under her pen, causing a long line of ink to be drawn on it before he stuffed it into his bag.

"What's up, Forehead?" For one drink, she sure slept in late. She obviously couldn't hold her alcohol very well.

Her friend looked flustered, grabbing hold of Sasuke's arm, who had his hands shoved in his pockets. Sakura's cheeks were slightly flushed, and she was even somewhat out of breath.

Rudely, she reached into Sasuke's pocket and pulled out his phone, to which he furrowed his brows a little at. Sakura rushed over to Ino and pressed a couple of buttons, before shoving the thing in her face.

Ino pulled back a little so she was able to see the entire screen.

She thought her heart stopped at that moment.

**

* * *

A/N:** I know, I fail at updating. I'm sorry.

I lost almost all of my FFN stuff. Just thought I'd let you guys know. I have most of my ongoing stuff, though, and my requests. So it should be good. And this all happened because _I got a MacBook_! WOULD ANYONE LIKE TO CELEBRATE WITH ME?

(It's so expensive, though. I'm afraid of breaking it.)


	5. —but that was okay,

**sticks and stones**  
v. —but that was okay,

_

* * *

No…_

The image before her suddenly blurred, and Ino pushed Sakura's hand away. "You could be sued for that," she muttered, bringing her coffee cup to her lips.

Naruto snatched the phone from Sakura's hand. "You're the one who wanted us to do it in the first place! Sasuke-teme and Sakura-chan took all of the fun, though." He handed it back to Sasuke, who took it back grudgingly and headed towards the small line at the food table to get his brunch. Sakura followed suit.

Ino wasn't sure of what to say. Sure, she'd been cheated on before—it wasn't really anything new—but…this was too much.

She really did like Kiba. Okay, given, she didn't like him as much as she could, but she did like him. A lot more than she had liked her previous boyfriends.

Man, life fucking _sucked_.

"Ino?" She felt Sakura's hand on her shoulder, and she swallowed, but to no avail. The tears began to come anyway. "You alright?"

She forced a laugh. "What do you _think_?"

* * *

Sakura sighed, dropping her pen. "I'm worried about Ino," she told Sasuke quietly, glancing around the sparsely populated library. "I should be with her right now."

"She told us to leave her alone." Sasuke shrugged as he continued to read his World Literature homework.

"She's probably dumping Kiba right now." She doodled on her paper. "I feel so bad. She always has a rough time with boys. Just because she's pretty and seemingly shallow, guys just think they don't have to take her seriously. What do you think Naruto's doing?"

"Something loud that can't be done in here."

She couldn't help but smile. "Maybe he's waiting to beat Kiba up after Ino's done with him."

"That's plausible."

It was silent for a while, and she began to summarize her reading. It wasn't long before she found she had pierced a hole through her paper, so with an inaudible grumble, she pulled out another piece and began again.

"How long have you guys been friends for?"

Her head perked up and she watched Sasuke for a moment. He met her gaze evenly. "Since we were about seven. Why?"

He returned to his work. "It doesn't seem like you two fit."

She laughed lightly. "Yeah, we've been told that we're complete opposites." While Ino was into cheerleading and appearances, Sakura was into reading and pursuing what she really wanted in life. "But I suppose that's why we're so close. We hold each other together." Pause. "Kind of like you and Naruto."

"I'm not friends with that dobe."

"That's what _you_ say." She giggled. That tone of his was a dead giveaway. Somewhere in that obnoxious statement, he cared about the blonde. Probably.

Anyway, that didn't matter. "Would you ever cheat on a girl, Sasuke?"

"Why the sudden change of subject?"

"I don't know. It just sort of came to mind." The thought of Sasuke going out of a girl was completely possible. She could imagine some drop-dead gorgeous girl—Ino, maybe—holding onto his arm as they walked down the hallway in the morning.

Because, after all, Sasuke would take nothing but the best.

The tips of his lips curved upwards, ever so slightly, into a smirk. "I could probably have an entire harem and not be hated for it."

She blinked.

"That was supposed to be a joke, right?"

He stared at her for a long moment, before returning to his work without another word.

* * *

Sasuke pulled on his soccer cleats, tying them tight before tossing his jeans and t-shirt into his locker.

"Yo, Sasuke. Ready for our first practice?" He turned his head to see Kiba making his way towards him, his usual goofy grin plastered onto his face.

"Hn. How were your call-backs?" He shut the locker door—perhaps a little harder than needed—and placed a hand on his hips. It was people like that disgusted him the most. Toying with everything, treating life like a game just because he _can_…

The other boy shrugged. "Pretty easy."

"You must have been pretty bored to have gone even after you made it in."

Kiba's eyes hardened on Sasuke, and he met the gaze just as evenly. After all, it was his specialty. "Yeah. Nothing to do, really."

He really shouldn't be sticking his nose into other people's business. It wasn't really like him. "Not even spending time with your girlfriend?" He really, _really_ shouldn't be doing this. It had nothing to do with him.

"Sasuke, I don't like people beating around the bush."

"Me neither."

"So just talk."

He _really_ shouldn't be doing this. "How's the girl?"

"Hot."

"How's Ino?" Dammit, Sasuke, you were beginning to get too close to your friends!

Kiba shrugged. "Not hot enough."

Okay. He wasn't going to punch him. He was going to be a dignified man and not punch him. Ruffling the back of his hair a bit, Sasuke brushed past the Inuzuka as indifferently as he could. And he was pretty sure he did well, because—well, because he was always good at acting indifferent.

This was stupid. Granted, Ino _did_ seem kind of superficial the first time he met her, that didn't mean she actually was. Well, not that he really knew her that well, but…

He kicked the ball. Perhaps a little too hard. It flew all the way into the bleachers.

Coach Gai blew his whistle. "That was beautiful, Sasuke! Now, run around the field fifty times as punishment and go get it!"

Like hell he would. Rolling his eyes, he jogged over to the bleachers to retrieve the ball.

Stupid. Everyone was so goddamn stupid.

* * *

"What are you doing?" Sakura looked up from her dinner to see Sasuke standing with his tray in hand, glaring at Naruto—who was currently leaning over and making a grab for his water bottle.

The blonde laughed sheepishly, and pulled back, sitting down again. "I was thirsty."

Sasuke moved into his seat beside her. "You have a bottle of root beer right in front of you."

"Water's healthier!" Naruto shoved a forkful of salad into his mouth. He glanced around, chewing quickly and swallowing, nearly choking in the process. "Where's Ino?"

Sakura sniffed slightly at her best friend's name. "She said she was going to dump Kiba." At this, the mood of the table seemed to dampen drastically. "He's a man-whore. I can't believe him. _Five months_—they've been going out for five months!"

"That's an incredibly long time," Naruto commented. "I mean, if Kiba was just dating her for other reasons…"

"Because she was hot," Sasuke offered.

"Well," Sakura stirred her soup with her spoon, "I suppose it _is_ difficult to find someone prettier than her. She's…I don't know, just, wow. Even I can say that, and I'm a girl." She felt particularly gloomy. Perhaps the next time she saw Kiba, she'd give him a little present. Yeah. Her fist.

"Leave my water alone, dobe."

"Shut up, teme."

Sakura listened to the boys' banters for a short while, until Ino trudged over and slumped in her seat, face buried in her arms.

No one said a thing.

"It's over," she finally said, lifting her head just enough so she could see all of them. "It's _over_." She sounded a lot more…broken than any of the other times. Sakura swallowed.

"Would you like some pudding?" she offered, glancing over at the dessert table. "And ice cream, and cake, and—ooh, look at all of the different kinds of cookies…" There probably wasn't anything she could say that would make her friend feel better, so the only thing she could do now was stock up on comfort food.

Ino nodded meekly. "Two of each, please."

Sakura stood up and headed over to the dessert table, and once she caught a glimpse of a certain someone, her pace quickened.

"How do you feel?" she asked nonchalantly, taking a large plate and beginning to fill it with sweets. Stupid whore of a man.

"Not too bad. You?" Kiba's grin was undeniable. Maybe she really _would_ give him her fist as a present. The idea was mighty tempting right about then. Her hand shook as she grabbed two small cups of double chocolate ice cream.

"Could be better." When there was no more space on her plate, she turned towards him. He met her gaze without faltering.

Then she lifted her foot and kicked him where it hurt. Like _hell_.

Kiba crumbled immediately, dropping his—thankfully empty—plate and grabbing his crotch. Sakura turned on her heels and stalked back to their table, where her friends were watching.

Damn, that felt good.

Ino straightened up and began taking in her sugar, looking a lot more satisfied than she did just minutes before.

* * *

"You suck, Naruto. You couldn't even spike _one_ of their drinks," Ino hissed at him as they rolled the dough in their hands.

Naruto glared at his Home Economics partner of the class, and glanced at Sasuke and Sakura, who were working together at the next counter over. "Sasuke-teme's a clever bastard, and Sakura didn't even _have_ a drink that night! And anyway," he placed a particularly soon-to-be-ugly cookie on the pan to have her grimace at it, "we were too busy bitching about Kiba, remember?"

Ino cringed slightly at this. "Please, don't remind me." He caught her glancing at said ex-boyfriend a little ways away from them, working with Shikamaru. "I don't want to think about it. I think I gained at least five pounds on Saturday."

"I wouldn't be surprised if you gained ten." He grinned when she glared at him. It was amazing how she still kept her form while eating that shitload of fatty food. Of course, he didn't _really_ think she gained any weight—but she honestly needed some cheering up and distractions from her break-up.

"At least I don't have whiskers on my face," she retorted haughtily, rolling the dough in her hands roughly.

"Hey! These are _birthmarks_, okay? They're beautiful!"

She rolled her eyes. "Right."

It was silent for a while, and once the pan was full of circular lumps of dough, the placed it into the oven. Naruto rubbed his nose. "So tell me again, why didn't we try spiking their drinks _last_ night?"

"Because it was Sunday, and if they missed classes and found out it was our fault, we'd be dead by now. We'll do it this Friday."

"And what if we fail?"

"We'll be fine as long as I'm there." She winked at him, and he blinked, wondering how the hell Kiba could dump a girl like her. "Don't worry."

As he continued to work on their cookies, Naruto returned to his plan on asking Sakura out again and having her say yes—until he realized he had completely forgotten it.

* * *

Much to his disappointment, Friday came and went, and nothing happened. As did Saturday. And the next Friday, and Saturday.

Well, not that _nothing_ happened—but nothing _interesting_ happened. Nothing that he _wanted_ to happen, happened.

It was a little infuriating, to say the least.

Naruto found it quite amusing to watch Ino's attempts to spike Sasuke and Sakura's drinks. Even he had to admit, it was probably really difficult—considering how freakin' _sharp_ those two were. Perhaps a little too sharp. Maybe that was why they didn't like partying it up; it caused their minds to fog up and their memories to mush together.

But honestly, they were so _stiff_.

He pulled his jacket closer around himself, watching his best friend's soccer practice. There was nothing else to do on a calm Saturday afternoon. Sakura and Ino said they were heading to the library, and since that was a place he'd prefer to avoid whenever possible, he had went to look for something else to occupy his temporary interest.

He remembered talking to Sakura about Sasuke's family. Should he have not had? As far as he knew, she didn't mention anything, but…Sasuke was always kind of iffy about it.

But it honestly needed to get out. If he kept it bottled up like that, he was only going to eventually go mad from it.

He couldn't quite remember when he fell asleep, but when he woke up, Sasuke was hovering over him with a frown etched into his features, and he felt a sneeze coming on.

"Dobe."

**

* * *

A/N:** In regards to the last chapter, just FYI: I really do love Kiba. But I had to make someone a jerk. And who would be better than him? XD And I'm sure Ino's characterization is kind of crappy here, too. I love her too, though. It was sort of necessary. Heh. (Sorry? XD)

_**IMPORTANT NOTE (-ish)!**_ I have a poll on my page. Seriously, check it out. If the majority chooses yes, the first song will be for Sticks and Stones. Don't know what I'm talking about? You're not supposed to. NOW GO TO MY PAGE, YO.

(Sorry this chapter is so short. Next chapter is longer. By about four hundred words. Heh.)


	6. because when they did,

**sticks and stones**  
vi. because when they did,

* * *

Days turned into weeks, and weeks into months. Before any of them knew it, it was nearing mid-November, and over two months of their first year of college had passed.

"Dear God," Naruto said sarcastically, throwing his hands in the air as they had their lunch together, "I think my friends Sasuke-teme and Sakura-chan have major party-phobia. Please save them. Amen."

Sakura snorted, and she was sure she caught Sasuke rolling his eyes slightly.

They didn't have major party-phobia. They weren't _scared_. They just didn't _like_ them much.

Across from her, Ino bit into her green apple. Ever since her break-up with Kiba (that she had recovered considerably well from), she had been on a strict diet, due to having consumed an (direct quote) "entire shitload" of lipids.

Sakura's phone buzzed in her pocket, and she debated on whether or not she should check it. Finally sighing, she eased it out and checked the new text message.

_Sakura-san, would you like to meet on the first Saturday of our winter break? You can bring your friends; I'd be more than glad to see them._

Her heart jumped to her throat at the thought of seeing Lee again. Was it a good kind of anxiety, or bad? Bad, she finally decided. She didn't really want to see him—it would probably be awkward. But she supposed she couldn't do anything about it.

"You guys, we're meeting up with Lee on the first Saturday of our winter break," she announced, quickly texting him back.

Naruto and Ino immediately burst out with complaints. "Why?"

"Just go yourself, Forehead!"

She didn't think she'd be able to stand being with him alone. "I'll pitch in for those earrings you've wanted for a while."

Ino perked up right away. "I'm in."

Naruto grumbled. "I suppose I'll go, too, then."

She turned towards the boy sitting beside her. "Sasuke?" Something in her wanted him to come; her group of friends just wasn't really the same without him and his occasional dry comments. He glanced at her with his look that resolutely said _no_. She frowned and jutted out her bottom lip into a pout, hoping that it'd work. "Please?"

He stared at her for a long time, and she fought to hold it. Then, he turned his head away and finished his apple juice.

"Fine."

She smiled, and bumped into him gently as a little sign of affection. "Thanks."

"Hn."

Well, at least now their little get-together would be bearable, at least. Maybe even enjoyable. Just a little.

* * *

Naruto grunted when Ino elbowed him roughly in the gut. "What?"

His blonde friend held up a small bottle. It looked like water—but, knowing her, it was anything but that.

"My secret ingredient."

"What does it do?"

The grin on her lips widened. "Just one drop in a diluted solution gets the consumer intoxicated. I'm sure Forehead will go down with that. Sasuke might need two or three, though."

He frowned. "It won't kill anyone, right?"

"What do you take me for? Obviously not!" she retorted indignantly. "Anyway, I'll buy them drinks tonight after dinner. Coffee, maybe. They're going to need it." She paused, and the silence stretched out in a way he loved. "Sakura's going to need a bunch of dark chocolate in hers; it releases chemicals in the brain that causes feelings of love, apparently."

"Shouldn't teme be the one having that?"

"Sasuke needs more of this stuff." She held up the bottle, winking. "Sakura needs the sugar. In the end, they're both going to loosen up, so it doesn't matter too much which drink they get."

Naruto cocked an eyebrow, clearly confused and too busy staring at her and wondering _how_ she could be so smart. "What?"

She sighed huffily. "So _basically_, it all evens out. Sakura's got more dark chocolate, and Sasuke's got more of my secret ingredient." She flicked his forehead, giggling slightly. "You ready for this?"

He grinned. "You bet."

* * *

"Two coffees!" Ino announced as she closed the door behind her. Sakura, who was lying on her stomach on her bed, looked up from her MacBook, and reluctantly accepted the coffee she handed her. Sasuke sat with his back against her bed, glancing up.

"Why do we need coffee?"

Her best friend's grin didn't ease her thoughts the way it normally did. "Because Naruto and I have this huge History exam to study for."

She frowned. "It's Friday."

"Well, we'll be studying today, tomorrow, and Sunday. You guys are going to help us. Here, Sasuke. Yours." Sakura watched with slight humor as Sasuke stared at the cup she held out to him like it was filled with venom.

"I don't drink coffee."

"Oh, c'mon, one isn't going to stunt your growth!" He stared. She stared. And then finally, he accepted it and took a sip, frowning.

"It's too sweet."

Sakura drank from hers, and cringed. "Ino-pig, did you mix these up? Mine's too bitter!" It tasted like someone melted extra dark chocolate and poured it in.

Ino shrugged. "Oh, get over it. You two need some new tastes, anyway."

Sasuke made eye contact with Sakura. After blinking, the both of them said in unison, "Trade." And they switched cups the way close friends would. Sakura took a deep gulp of Sasuke's warm coffee, and sighed in content. "_Much_ better."

It was silent for a moment.

"I dislike coffee." Sasuke wrinkled his nose.

Ino rolled her eyes. "Just get that stick out of your ass and drink it. It's not going to kill you."

He sent what seemed to be a glare her way and continued to drink it with a very bitter expression on his face. Meanwhile, Sakura sipped hers happily while reading a manga she had recently discovered online. It was quite good…Love triangles were lame and clichéd, but she was a sucker for clichéd things.

A slow song began playing on Ino's iPod speakers, and the rustling of papers was heard.

As Ino and Naruto bounced questions off each other, and occasionally her and Sasuke when they weren't sure of something, she finished her coffee, and was soon craving another. She took Sasuke's, which was barely even half empty, and began drinking his.

It wasn't long before her attention began to wander.

Technically, this manga _was_ interesting, but…she just didn't feel like reading it right now. Sighing heavily, she rolled off her bed and sat beside Sasuke, hugging her knees. She began idly humming to the current song playing. For once, she actually knew it.

Was it just her, or was her mind growing foggier?

"I thought coffee sharpened your mind," she said, vaguely surprised to find her speech somewhat slurred.

"It just keeps you from sleeping," Sasuke corrected, pressing a couple of buttons on his phone.

Suddenly, Ino stood up, pulling Naruto with her. "We're going out," she announced. "Need a breather."

Sasuke stared at them. "You haven't even been studying for half an hour." But he was one to talk, Sakura thought. He was so smart; he probably barely studied. Maybe a couple minutes to review, but otherwise, he had an awful lot of free time on his hands.

Naruto shrugged. "Oh, well."

And so they left.

Sakura and Sasuke stared at each other. She blinked. "So…what do we do now?"

He shrugged, and returned to his phone. But she kept staring at him. He had such nice facial features…pale skin, well-shaped nose, high cheekbones, dark eyes, thin lips…

He turned towards her again. "What?"

She shook her head, frowning. "I don't know. I feel funny." Raising a hand, she reached for him, and her fingertips made contact with his nose. "You have an incredibly nice nose."

He rolled his eyes. "It doesn't take a genius to figure out that Ino spiked that coffee."

Pause. Blink. "What?"

A heavy sigh. "She wouldn't have bought us coffee without getting one for herself. Either that, or there would've been a good reason." She continued to watch him curiously, feeling his breath against the palm of her hand. "The reason being to intoxicate us," he explained slowly, as if she wasn't able to understand.

She scoffed. "I know _that_. But why would she want to intox—intoximate us?"

"Intoxi_cate_, Sakura."

"Shut up."

There was silence for a long moment, and her fingers left his nose. His eyes darted towards her hand, which was sliding down to his lips. "I wonder if anyone's ever complimented your lips before, Sasuke…"

"You're tipsy."

"Am not!"

Something told her this conversation had happened before.

Her hand went up again, and she played with a lock of raven hair between her fingers, not quite being able to comprehend why he wasn't pushing her away. "You have really nice lips. And hair. And…" She paused, looking for the right words. It wasn't often that she lacked vocabulary. "And you're a really good friend. I don't think I'd trade it for the world." Her hand fell to a rest on his shoulder.

Sasuke watched her for a long moment, and she decided that she liked the way he looked at her. She giggled. "I don't get why girls like you," she continued, smiling at the frown that formed on his lips. "I suppose you're kind of cute"—he scowled—"okay, _really_ cute—but…you've got a stick shoved up your ass."

"Pleasant choice of words."

She continued to thread her fingers through his hair. It was so soft. "But once I got to know you…" She blinked sleepily. "I realized, that, maybe, you're not such a bad person after all…"

His eyes never left her, and she began to feel a little flustered—embarrassed, even—under his burning gaze. "Stop looking at me like that…"

He had such pale skin. Almost as if indicating that all of his emotions were harsh and cold. He had such a nice nose. It felt so nice just brushing against the tip of her own. His cheekbones were so prominent; it really balanced him out, with him being a little effeminate and all.

Such dark eyes…she could barely hold his gaze…

Thin lips…Felt so good pressed against her own…

* * *

Wrong. Wrong. Wrong.

Out of all of the words that Sasuke had learnt in his life, only one could fit this situation: _wrong_.

He associated a few words with Sakura. One was _pink_. Another was _bright_. There was also _smart_, _forehead_, and _bad morals_.

When he saw her tipsy—both last time, and this time—he vaguely connected _cute_ with it.

But, really, the one word that stuck out the most, kind of like a sore thumb, or a thorn in his side—or, maybe, a stick shoved up his ass—was _friend_. A _girl_ who was a _friend_ who wasn't a _girlfriend_.

And now, _confusion_.

Sasuke was rarely confused. Sometimes, he wasn't quite sure of what to say to Naruto when he showed signs of affection and brotherly love, or he was stuck on a particularly feisty school assignment, but he had never been as utterly confused as he was, now.

Of course, not that he was going to show it. But it bugged the hell out of him.

Eyes? _Brilliant._ Voice? _Soft._ Laugh? _Comforting._ Fingers? _Fleeting._ He could match the words to the things so easily.

But when it came to matching words with emotions—he was lost.

He didn't know. He didn't know why he suddenly felt so compelled to touch her the way she was touching him; he didn't know why her forehead wasn't as obnoxious anymore; he didn't know why he had emotions churning in his stomach, telling him to ruin this rare friendship with a girl that honestly didn't rape him with her eyes every ten seconds.

The word _confusion_ couldn't even _begin_ to describe what was going through his mind right now.

But, then, their mouths met, and he could only find one word in his slightly buzzed mind that fit perfectly with the moment:

_Right._

* * *

"What's that?" Naruto craned his neck so he could see over her shoulder.

Ino couldn't help but note how close he was to her—it was sort of like a second nature to notice these things—and how warm his cheek was just centimeters from her own. She showed him her phone. "I hooked a camera into our room and connected it."

He let out a low whistle, his breath disturbing a few strands of her hair. "That's pretty nifty. How'd you do it?"

She winked at him. "I have my sources."

They watched the screen of her phone in silence for a short while. Sakura was _definitely_ intoxicated—that much was obvious. She was leaning against Sasuke, lips shaping into words that they couldn't hear. She was _feeling him up_, she thought wryly, a small smirk of triumph stretching over her lips. Her fingers were just fleeting over his face, and soon twirling a lock of his bangs around a finger.

Naruto laughed lightly, and she leaned comfortable back towards him, enjoying his warmth. He was _always_ warm; body, personality, smile—she couldn't imagine a Naruto who was cold. "Does Sakura-chan like him? I guess I've been outclassed."

She shook her head. "Probably not, but she drank Sasuke's coffee, so she's _way_ drunker than she should be."

"So teme's completely sober."

"Probably."

It was then that her jaw dropped as Sasuke turned his head slightly. Sakura looked incredibly sleepy—it'd be a miracle if she remembered what happened tomorrow—so she sort of had a reason. But _Sasuke_?

She couldn't tell from this angle, but…

"Wait. Is he _kissing_ her?"

Ino swallowed. "Uh, seems like it."

And she stared, blinked, and stared some more. Sakura's arm that she wasn't sitting on his shoulder was wrapped around his neck as she leaned further into him. And then she thought about Kiba, and how _she_ used to do that to him, and how _he_ used to kiss her like that.

Used to.

And then she was jealous. Why—and of _Sakura_, for that matter—she had no idea.

"Has Sasuke ever gone out with anyone before?" she asked Naruto, jaw slightly clenched.

She felt him shrug behind her. "Yeah. But I don't think he was emotionally attached, or anything. Just the hot ones to pass the time." He paused. "But I didn't think Sakura-chan was his type…"

She wasn't supposed to care, really. She _wanted_ Sakura to get a boyfriend. (Or laid.) And she didn't even care about Sasuke that way; he was too much of a hard-ass for her.

But for some odd reason, she _did_ care.

She watched Sakura and Sasuke, although she knew she shouldn't. It was kind of creepy, even though they didn't know she was watching. If she had the chance, she would've gone out with Sasuke. Even if it was just for a little while. He was such a good person, even though he didn't seem it. It wasn't even because he was _hot_—although that was a plus.

And, barely thinking about it, she turned her head, grabbed Naruto's chin, and kissed him.

**

* * *

A/N:** From the results of your guys' poll, I've posted this fic's song on YouTube, called _Shut Up, Get Up, Run_. My YouTube link is on my page. I would love it if you gave me feedback. Either comment on the video, or vote in my new poll as to whether or not I should continue doing this. Thanks a bunch!

And ooh, the drama's starting. ;) (Well, not really.)


	7. it was all worth it

**sticks and stones**  
vii. it was all worth it.

* * *

Naruto stared at the closed eyes just centimetres from his own. He stared, and stared, and stared.

And then he blinked.

Then he closed his eyes, too.

Ino was kissing him. Ino, one of the hottest girls he knew, was _kissing_ him.

It was weird. He, only having kissed a few people in his life—all of them when he was drunk—couldn't quite remember what it felt like to have lips pressed against lips, so it was all quite new to him. His body pressed into her back, and, caught in the moment, his arms wrapped around her waist in a secure hold.

It felt nice, he decided. Kissing someone, he meant. Her lips were fleeting, only back just a moment later, pressing against him tightly. When her body pulled away from his, he was surprised it was only just to turn around to face him and get better access.

Uzumaki Naruto and Yamanaka Ino. That wasn't really right.

Uzumaki Ino. Hey, that wasn't too bad.

But that wasn't the point!

"Uh," he managed as he pulled away from her slightly, brushing their noses together. Their breaths were warm, and he felt his cheeks flush. "What are we doing?"

He thought he saw her brilliantly blue eyes brim with tears. "Just shut up and kiss me, you moron." Her voice was soft, and her bottom lip quivered. She pressed her mouth to his again, wrapping her arms around his neck in a tight grip.

Naruto wasn't very good at emotionally analyzing people, so he just went with it, and kissed her back. It'd be alright, even if it was just for a little while.

Just for a little while.

* * *

"You have cold hands," she mumbled breathlessly when she felt his fingertips brush her cheek, sending shivers down her spine.

He didn't say anything; didn't do anything. They stayed in that position for a long while; one of her arms draped over his shoulder, his hand lingering above her cheek and one of his legs curled up against his chest. His breath was warm against her lips, and she realized how much she wanted to kiss him again. She stared at his lips, and she was sure he was staring at hers.

And as if reading her mind, he pulled away.

The loss of his presence being right there was drastic. She inhaled sharply, and her arm on him stiffened, as if attempting to keep him there. But he pulled even further away, until her hand fell onto his thigh in defeat.

"Go to sleep," he told her, standing up and slipping his phone into the pocket of his jeans. When she looked up at him and blinked, he heaved a sigh and held out a hand to her.

A light smile met her lips and she took it, hauling herself to her feet in a wobbly manner. His cold fingers against her warm palm suddenly didn't feel so bad. She fell with a slight bounce onto her bed, and lay her head on her pillow, enjoying how comfortable it felt.

"Sasuke?" she asked, her voice sounding distant. "Where are you going?" His back was facing her, and he was walking away. She didn't like that.

"I'm going to sleep too. I'll see you tomorrow."

Now, _that_, she liked. Seeing him again was always good.

So while she waited for tomorrow come, she slept.

* * *

She couldn't get enough of him. She wasn't sure if it was because it was _him_, or because she just _needed_ someone to be there, telling her she had finally done something _right_ with her life, but feeling her body pressed up against his was bliss right about now.

He tasted different from Kiba. Well, not that she had really expected otherwise, but…it was a nice taste. Different, but nice. She could honestly just stand here, kissing him forever—

"Ino, I hope you realize neither Sakura nor I are going near anything you offer us after tonight."

She and Naruto snapped apart, both breathing heavily. Her cheeks flushed as she locked eyes with Sasuke, sure that her hair was mussed and her lips slightly red. She felt the jealousy flare again, remembering where _his_ lips had been just minutes ago.

"It served its purpose," she snapped, although it didn't, really. It was supposed to loosen them up and get them to know how to have fun. Not to _hook up_.

Although, with the setting and the circumstances, she couldn't really blame them.

Okay, that wasn't really the problem here.

"Hn." She could just hear the smirk in his voice. "Sakura's sleeping. You might want to take care of her."

"Will do."

When he walked away in the direction of his dorm, she felt Naruto's arms leaving her waist. And, in turn, hers left his shoulders.

They stared at each other.

"Um…" He fidgeted with his fingers. "That was…hot?"

She was tempted to narrow her eyes, but couldn't find it in herself to do so. It was her fault in the first place—that much was apparent—and he just went with the flow, because, God knew that he would've been hurt badly if he didn't.

"Sorry," she mumbled in the sincerest voice she could. "I wasn't thinking."

He cocked an eyebrow. "Neither was I. We were kissing."

She cracked a wry smile. "Well, don't think it means anything, okay?"

"Sure." He shrugged, looking away. "But we can do it again, right?"

There was silence.

"Uh, sure, Naruto. Now, go to bed."

"What about my books?"

"Screw the books. You don't read them, anyway." She didn't want to spend another minute with him. After being friends with him for so long, she crossed the line that should _never_ be crossed with friends. There was no turning back now. But she didn't want to believe that.

There were a lot of things she didn't want to believe.

* * *

"Fucking _Pig_!" Sakura thought she shouted those words subconsciously, since she had been awake for no longer than two seconds, but she began to second guess herself when she realized how much she meant them.

Ino glanced at her from across the room, typing something on her laptop. "What?" Her voice was so sweet and innocent. The frustration in Sakura's stomach flared.

"You _spiked_ the coffee!" she all but wailed, not quite sure of what to do. "I don't remember a thing from last night!" Her eyes widened, and she promptly threw off her sheets and pulled at the elastic waistband of her pajama bottoms, checking for any abnormalities. "I didn't—nothing happened—_right_?"

The blonde snorted. "As if _anyone_ would waste his time to."

She scowled. "That's not the _point_!" Dejectedly, she began looking for something clean to wear in her drawers.

"Then what is?"

"Well…you _spiked_ the _coffee_!"

She was looking way too calm about this. "Yes, Sakura, we've established that already."

Sakura ran a hand through her tangled hair. The thing she hated most was that she didn't really _mind_. Well, other than the fact that she couldn't exactly recall the events from the night before, she remembered that something good happened. Much too good for her taste.

"This sucks," she finally decided to say, pulling on a pair of jeans and shoving her socked feet into her sneakers. "Like, majorly. Why did you do it in the first place?"

"Because you two would never loosen up!" At this, Ino raised her head and locked eyes with her, suddenly a little snappy. She was somewhat taken aback.

"'You two'? As in…" It didn't take a genius to put two and two together. "As in me and Sasuke?" She groaned. "Don't tell me you spiked _his_ drink, too!"

"Well, you guys traded cups, so you got three times as much as you should've, and he got three times less. So he was relatively sober, if not completely." She sounded a little grumpy at this. Because they didn't suddenly start blasting music on her iPod speakers and partying to it? She mentally snorted. Sure.

"So…we didn't do anything after you guys left, right? Like, _anything_?" They better not have. Because if they did…

She cringed.

Ino's laugh was high-pitched. "Sasuke could have any girl he wants, Forehead. Did you think he'd choose you?"

A sigh of relief left her lips. "No. And thank God. Okay, I feel a lot better, now." She shot a glare at her best friend. "But, I swear to God, if you ever do it again, I am going to _shave your head_."

Her jaw dropped, and a barely audible gasp met her ears. "You wouldn't dare!"

"Try me."

And with that, she stalked out of the room and to the communal bathroom down the hall, feeling a little better about herself.

* * *

The table was oddly quiet.

And, because no one objected to it, Sakura deduced that there was something she didn't know about.

She glanced at Ino. She was picking apart her orange, looking deep in thought, which was _so_ not her. She inspected Naruto. He was fidgety, glancing around the room. She looked at Sasuke. Well, he was Sasuke.

"Okay, spill," she finally demanded, putting down her croissant. Every seemed to snap to attention. That, alone, was an oddity. "What happened last night? Why am _I_ the only one who can't remember anything?"

"Because you're the one who can't hold her alcohol well," Ino shot back, rolling her eyes.

She narrowed her eyes. "Hey. I'm serious here."

Out of her peripheral vision, she caught Sasuke's shoulders rising and falling in a miniscule shrug. "Why don't you ask those two?" He nodded his head towards Naruto and the girl sitting beside him.

Ino opened her mouth. "Hey, _you_ shouldn't be talking, you little best friend-stealing son of a—" Before she could continue, the familiar beep of the intercom cut her off.

"Would Uchiha Sasuke please make his way to the main office. Uchiha Sasuke to the main office."

Everyone's gaze fell onto their raven-haired friend. He shrugged, finished his orange juice, picked up his bag and left.

Sakura blinked. "So…" Her attention returned to the two sitting across from her. "What happened last night?" They immediately averted their gazes and found great interest in their food.

And why was she friends with these people again?

* * *

The three of them were together for the rest of the day. And, for the love of God, Naruto had no idea what was happening to him.

He looked at Sakura. Sakura-chan, the girl he had crushed on ever since the beginning of middle school. It'd been years. Six, maybe? Seven? He admired her determination, her unique beauty, and her brains.

And then he looked at Ino. His friend since eighth grade, when she transferred to his and Sakura's school. Partier, outgoing, and happy-go-lucky.

They were two completely different people. Was it possible to feel attracted to both?

No, not really, he decided. What he felt towards Ino was probably some infatuation. After all, all he thought about her was the way her lips felt when pressed against his own—not her good attributes. Just an infatuation. Yeah.

If that was the case, why the hell did he ask if he could do it again sometime?

"Oi, _Sakura_," Ino said, articulating her friend's name carefully, "get your face out of that book and start thinking of something fun to do."

"This _is_ fun!" the other retorted, flipping a page indignantly.

Ino, the bright, dangerously lively one. Sakura, the calm, thought-out one. They were on completely opposite ends of the spectrum.

…And, despite himself, Naruto wondered where and when he had learnt the word "spectrum".

"Naruto, help me here," Ino whined, tugging on his arm. "We can't just sit here and watch her _read_."

He managed to grin in time before his reaction was slightly delayed. "How about we go shoot some hoops?" he offered, gesturing towards the basketball court outside. It wasn't _too_ cold; they'd just have to wear an extra sweater or two.

"Are you _kidding_ me?" The other blonde looked horrified. "These sneakers are _priceless_! I'm not ruining them!" She wiggled her feet for emphasis, to which he rolled his eyes.

"Then what do you want to do?"

"Mm…" Ino put a finger to her chin. "Charades! You up for it, Forehead?"

"Hold up; let me finish this chapter." Five seconds, and she shut the book, looking considerably satisfied. "Okay, I'm good. Just the three of us?" Her brows knitted into a frown. "That's no fun."

Naruto rolled his eyes. "It's either that, or some basketball."

"Not basketball!" Ino's voice sure could be high-pitched when she wanted it to be.

"How about we go look for Sasuke?" Sakura suggested. "He's been gone for a while, now. Do you think he's in trouble?"

He scoffed. "As if Teme would ever get in trouble. C'mon, then, just one round. You go, Sakura-chan! I haven't played Charades in ages!" College was supposed to be the best years of their life; so why was everything so uneventful? There hadn't been a decent party for ages. No parties meant no free alcohol.

This managed to pull a heavy sigh from the pink-haired girl. "Fine." And with that, she stood up from her seat on the couch in the lounge they were in, she stuffed her hands into her jean pockets.

He stared. "You _are_ pretending to be something, right?"

She huffed, and slouched her back a little. "Obviously."

Suddenly, Ino clapped her hands, a grin spreading across her lips. "Oh, I know! You're being Sasuke!"

"Ding. Correct. Now, c'mon, let's go. Charades is no fun with just three people."

And so the girls promptly got up and left the room, causing Naruto to follow behind them at a slower pace. Sasuke's location didn't _need_ to be known twenty-four-seven. That would just be a little creepy. And seeing that both of his friends both supported the idea of looking for him, it made him somewhat gloomy.

He was never good enough. It wasn't fair.

* * *

Sakura smiled when they saw Sasuke sitting in the bleachers by the soccer field. She waved her hand and shouted his name, doubting that he'd notice her, anyway, with all of the distance between them.

"Teme, we told you to go to the rec room!" Naruto said once they came close enough. Sasuke glanced over at them and lightly rolled his eyes, returning his gaze back to the empty soccer field.

Ino sat down beside him and draped an arm around his shoulders playfully. "So, what? You're in trouble?"

He didn't even show any sign that he noticed her. "Just a change in my schedule. I'm taking Bio-Chem now as well."

Sakura quirked an eyebrow, sitting on the other side of her blonde friend. Naruto proceeded to sit beside Sasuke. "Really? Why?" It was strange for someone to be changing courses so late in the school year, but, knowing Sasuke, he'd catch up in no time.

"Just a change. Relief from boredom."

"Just as an elective, right?"

"Yeah."

"But you'll still be taking it with me."

"I think so."

She liked the thought of taking another class with Sasuke. As strange as it was, the Uchiha's company was pleasant. Not in the usual friend way, but more of a distinct _Sasuke_ way. The conversation could be dead, but it would still be comfortable. It wasn't just her—he could communicate with other people without words, too. And she found that amazing.

In fact, now that she thought about it, everything about Sasuke was amazing.

When she glanced at him past Ino, he met her gaze, raising an eyebrow in question. She merely smiled and shook her head.

She'll wait just a little while. Just a little while, and maybe, she'd be just as amazing as him.

**

* * *

A/N:** I'M DONE MY EXAMS!!!!!!! (And since I'm a writer and 9138403 exclamation points is improper grammar, you _know_ I'm extremely happy about this.) I wanted to post this to celebrate. :D (That, and it's been forever since this has been updated.)

And I went to my local anime convention today! It was amazing! :D

AND THIS WOULD'VE BEEN OUT SOONER OF FFN WOULD'VE STOPPED HAVING GLITCHES.


	8. so let’s just hold hands,

**sticks and stones**  
viii. so let's just hold hands,

* * *

If there was one word that Sasuke didn't like, it would be _excursion_.

He also didn't like _photo_, _shopping_, and _spending_.

So, naturally, as Ino and Naruto dragged him on this _excursion_, where they'd _shop_, take _photos_, and _spend_ money, he was rather grumpy. Sakura followed behind at a more eased pace, obviously used to their endeavors.

She knew he wasn't accustomed to their wild friends, and she still didn't help him. How self-centered.

Photo booths, he had concluded, were hell. No one had any sense of personal space. Even if the little drawn-on decorations afterwards were (frustratingly, admittedly) cute, and they could even be stickers that could be stuck on their phones, he would rather not have one stuck on the back of his.

But somehow, he found one there anyway. Ino's _I'm sexy_ smile in the bottom left corner, Naruto's beaming face taking up nearly half of the picture, and Sakura grinning and Sasuke grumbling up top was _not_ something he wanted to see every time he took out his phone.

So, he decided, _sticker_ was his new least favorite word.

_Great,_ he thought vaguely with a faint realization. _These are going to be all over Facebook by tomorrow._ And considering the number of girls that probably crept him…

He officially hated Ino and Naruto.

He watched his friends as Sakura and Naruto argued about what ice cream was better. Who even _had_ ice cream this time of year?

"Mint chocolate!"

"Cookie dough!"

"Mint chocolate!"

"Cookie dough!"

"Oh, come _on_, you guys," Ino said, rolling her eyes and taking a lick of her own cone. "The best is obviously pi_**ñ**_a colada."

"Stop being such a poor sport, Sasuke. Eat something!" He turned towards Sakura, who had a small, bright green plastic spoon between her lips, pressing them in a way so it looked like she was pouting. "Would you like to try some of mine?" she offered, scooping a little bit of cookie dough ice cream into said spoon.

He would've uncharacteristically rolled his eyes, but he didn't find it to be worth the effort. "I don't like sweets." He flipped his phone open and shut, watching the time flash on and off, and the sticker on the front, fighting a scowl. It was so ugly.

This was absolutely ridiculous.

* * *

"Look at all of the fish!" Naruto grinned as Sakura squealed, running to the back of the pet store, where the aquariums were located. He saw Ino roll him eyes and smile, following at a much slower pace.

He stayed with Sasuke. He was looking idly at the different dog food brands, but Naruto knew better than that.

"What'd they tell you, Sasuke?"

The Uchiha looked over at him, eyes narrowing in a slight glare. Naruto defied him. He wasn't so easily frightened anymore.

"They didn't tell me anything."

He snorted. "Don't bullshit me. I _know_ something happened. Do you really think I can't read my best friend?" The day he had been called to the office—since that day, he had been acting strangely. Naruto had taken the liberty to give him some time for him to decide to tell them on his own, but since it wasn't happening, he was forcing it out of him.

"You can't read anything. You're illiterate." His tone was harsh, and he turned away sharply, making his way to the back of the store, where Ino and Sakura were.

"Sasuke!" His tanned hand grabbed his shoulder, roughly jerking him around and earning him a deep growl. "Tell me what they said."

They engaged in a staring contest for a very long moment, before his best friend turned away. Naruto felt his shoulders slump; a surrender. His grip, in return, relaxed, and his brow stopped furrowing.

There was a long silence. And, finally:

"Itachi's dead."

Sasuke was looking to the side, almost nonchalantly—just almost. And seemingly, just then, as the blonde stared at him, he felt a something inside of him break a little.

"Gang beating," he continued indifferently, jerking his shoulder away from Naruto's touch. It was too warm, probably. Naruto was always too warm for him. Too loud, too obnoxious, too dense. "Probably drug-related."

Naruto looked at him, wholly and truly. He looked at him and his back as he made his way towards their friends with the fish; he looked at the spiky hair and the hands shoved into the pockets of his jeans; he looked at the dark eyes that met his blue ones when he glanced back and asked if he was coming or not.

He looked, and he saw the Sasuke that he had never wanted to see again.

* * *

"You like that one?" Sakura turned her head and looked up from her crouched position, finding Sasuke behind her. She nodded enthusiastically, pointing at one particular goldfish.

"It's so cute! It's kind of fat and awkward, but it's really unique and it's just floating its way through the water…" She couldn't remember being so relaxed and carefree. Today wasn't even anything special; they were all just hanging out in the city on a Saturday afternoon, after Sasuke's soccer practice. But somehow, it felt like so much more.

When she turned around again, Sasuke was gone. Her face formed into a confused expression, but she shrugged it off as she straightened up to head to Ino, who was admiring a baby turtle.

"I could watch it forever," he blonde friend gushed, tapping the glass lightly. Sakura rolled her eyes.

"Of course. Now, let's go. I think Naruto's hungry."

"It's only five. It isn't nearly time for dinner yet. Let me look a little longer." With a huffy sigh, she wandered away to look at the puppies.

"I'd like that one, please." Sasuke's voice caught her attention, and she turned back, eyes widening in surprise. He was with a store employee, who was holding a plastic bag and currently fishing for a specific goldfish in a specific tank.

Just what on earth was he doing?

"Sasuke!" she called out, rushing over to him. "You aren't, by any chance—" Why was he buying that goldfish? It was perfectly fine in there! He'd probably kill it with his cold aura if he bought it. "Don't buy it! It'll die!"

"I'll help you to take care of it, then."

She blinked. "What?"

He gave her that _you're stupid_ look that he often gave Naruto, and she played with her fingers, embarrassed. "I'm getting the fish for _you_."

Pause. "Why?"

"Because you like it."

It was her turn to give him a _you're stupid_ look. "Just because I like it, doesn't mean I have to have it. Geez, rich people…" She rolled her eyes, but when she caught his gaze hardening on her, she decided to shut her mouth.

"Um…" Their attention shifted back to the store employee. "You wanted this one, right?" He had the fish caught in the net pressed against the glass tank.

Sasuke nodded promptly. "Yeah."

And, much to her horror, the guy scooped the fish up, dumped it into the plastic bag full of water, tied it up, and gave it to him.

"Here," he said nonchalantly, pressing the bag into her hands. "It's yours."

She blinked, took it, and raised it up to eye level, eyeing the fish incredulously. It stared right back at her with large eyes and bobbing movements as it adjusted to its new environment. "T-Thanks," she said softly, quite touched by the gesture. "You didn't have to, you know."

"I know."

She stared at him as he turned and walked away in the direction of a spiky blonde head a little ways down the aisle.

Well, that sort of ruined the moment.

But at the same time…She smiled softly at the fish in her hands. Maybe it didn't. Maybe it was just Sasuke. Maybe it was his way of saying _you're welcome_.

_He's so sweet,_ she thought subconsciously to herself. Because, of course, if she thought it consciously, she probably would've slapped herself. Thinking of her friends as _sweet_ wasn't something she often did, and she wasn't going to start.

When they finally made their way out of the pet store, Ino eyed her plastic bag warily. "You're crazy, Forehead."

But she only smiled. "I know."

* * *

"You look stressed," Sakura told Sasuke as they sat in the pizza parlor. Naruto glanced up from his coke, watching his raven-haired friend.

This was stupid. Something this big, and he hadn't even told anyone until he forced it out of him. Why was he _always_ bottling everything up inside? Could he not see it was totally unhealthy? He had never met someone as emotionally constipated as Sasuke.

"Hn." Sasuke held his glass of soda casually in his hands, sipping idly from the straw. Naruto scowled. He could act so damn well.

"Here." Sakura stood up from her seat, suddenly looking very pleased. She made her way around the table until she stood behind Sasuke, who looked back at her warily out of the corner of his eyes. "I'll give you a massage."

"That isn't necessary—"

"Relax! Just take it as thanks for the fish!" At this, Naruto glanced at the plastic bag with the ugly goldfish in it. That's what it was: ugly. Sasuke bought an ugly fish for pretty Sakura.

Wow, he was in a foul mood.

The Uchiha fell quiet as Sakura massaged his shoulders. It should be doing him some good. Hell, a massage _anywhere_ would do him some good. At this, though, his frown deepened. God, he was being an emo little kid today. And this outing was supposed to be _fun_.

Ino, sitting across from him, rolled her eyes and took a bite of her Hawaiian pizza. "Stop that, Forehead. It looks like you're molesting him."

Sakura merely stuck her tongue out at her. It was only a few moments later before she pat Sasuke's back. "There. Feel better?"

"Whatever."

She smiled, and it was Naruto's turn to roll his eyes. Sasuke was such a jerk. He didn't know how anyone stood him.

"You're welcome."

* * *

They all returned, happy. Ino was particularly satisfied, seeing that Sasuke and Sakura had a little bit of fun today—considering their lack of it normally.

She glanced at Naruto as he made some stupid remark. They were just sitting in the nearly empty cafeteria, eleven at night. She had some grapes with her, and she ate them thoughtfully.

Now that she noticed, Naruto had a really charming smile…

She mentally slapped herself. No, Ino. That was _so_ wrong. Naruto is never considered romantically. Ever. By anyone.

_Ever._

But she couldn't help but think it anyway. How he was always able to cheer her up—with her breakup with Kiba, and even every time before that. When she flunked Math and had to retake it the next year while he and Sakura moved on, when she lost all of her beautiful hair in an argument with Sakura—all the time, every time.

Well, she supposed, thinking about him this way wasn't so bad. It was probably some temporary infatuation of hers, anyway. She'd had her fair share of them.

Yeah. She'd get over it soon.

"I'm going to bed." Sasuke abruptly stood up from his seat, and they all looked at him. He made eye contact with every single of them, before turning and walking away. Their goodnights chorused around the table.

The blissful silence was only present for a minute, until Naruto leaned in beside her. She and Sakura glanced at him.

"Hey, you guys," he said—whispered, even, though she didn't see why, because they were the only ones there. "I'll tell you something—but you can't say a word about it to Sasuke, because he'll probably castrate me."

At this, both she and her pink-haired best friend wrinkled their nose in disgust.

"Okay," Sakura agreed. "Fire away."

The blonde looked at both of them, expression strangely solemn. Ino swallowed.

"Itachi—Sasuke's older brother—he died. He was called to the office that day because of it."

This time, the silence lasted a lot longer—but it was anything but blissful. A grape dropped from Ino's fingers, rolled across the table and onto the floor, but she didn't notice.

"What…?" Sakura looked absolutely dumbstruck. "Died? Isn't he, like, thirty?" Her voice shook a little, and Ino found that her knuckles were white as she clutched her phone, which was now obviously forgotten.

"Around there, yeah. Apparently, it was some gang-beating."

"Oh my God."

Ino felt like crying. She didn't know why; she just did. She hadn't known Sasuke for very long, but knowing him, there were a lot of things that he kept to himself. It was inpossible to act the way he did, so obviously, something bad had happened to him in the past. She had no idea what it was, but she was sure his brother's death was a big loss.

She swallowed. "How…is he?"

He shrugged. "Sakura could tell he looked stressed, right? Teme's a great actor, but when he lets some things slip past…you know something's wrong."

She felt a little guilty, because she didn't notice Sasuke acting weird at all. Maybe because she just didn't care about him at all, or her short attention span was the reason for it.

And then, she really did cry.

"Pig, you look disgraceful," Sakura choked out. "You're going to make me cry, too." At this, Naruto heaved a heavy sigh.

"C'mon, you guys. He didn't want to tell you because you'd be like this." Both girls look at him, blinking away the tears. Ino _hated_ crying in front of boys. It was so embarrassing. "He likes it when you guys smile. So keep on doing it." For emphasis, he smiled weakly. "I do it all the time. It's easy."

But she could've sworn that he was tearing up, too.

"Well, if he likes it when we smile, he could've just said so," Sakura muttered to herself, roughly wiping her eyes with the back of her hand.

Ino agreed. Guys were egotistical assholes.

**

* * *

A/N:** Everyone who has me on alerts is probably like, "Holy fuckshit, Rachelle, stop updating so much." But school starts on the 2nd, and I know you guys will miss my disgustingly frequent updates once that time comes. ;)

And check out my page, you guys. Yeee.


	9. close our eyes,

**sticks and stones**  
ix: close our eyes,

* * *

Sasuke had to commend Sakura for her timing. She entered his dorm just as Naruto had left for the communal bathroom for his morning shower.

The first thing that happened when he saw her that Sunday morning was him being punched in the face by her.

That was right. He wasn't slapped. He wasn't screamed at. He was _punched_.

It was sort of shameful, in a way.

"What was that for?" he growled angrily, massaging his jaw. She might've dislocated it, dammit. That girl had some power in that fist. He hadn't even gotten out of bed; he was sitting in his t-shirt and boxers, only slightly concealed by his covers.

It was only then did he notice that she was crying. Her eyes were sparkling—but not in the way they normally did—the way he _liked_ them—but they were sparkling with tears. _Tears._

"What was _that_ for?" she all but shrieked, repeating him, throwing her hands up in the air hysterically. "That was for _you_!"

"That much was obvious." She didn't even take time to put on her normal thin layer of clear lip gloss. Her bubblegum hair was tied in a messy ponytail, as if she had purposely rushed over just as Naruto left.

And, knowing her, if she wanted to do it, she could.

He mentally scowled at himself for knowing, and taking so much notice in her. It couldn't be healthy.

Her bottom lip trembled, and she grabbed his shoulders in a tight grip, causing his brow to furrow a little. "Why didn't you _tell_ us?" she whispered, voice cracking.

What was she talking about?

He stared at her. Then, he noticed the bags under her eyes, and how she didn't even bother to put makeup on it to cover it up.

Oh. _Oh._

She was talking about _that_.

What the hell. Naruto said he wouldn't tell. Well, that was just one more person to castrate.

"I didn't feel the need to," he said nonchalantly, looking away. Naruto was _so_ dead when he got back. Sasuke was going to personally skin him and cook him on a rotating stick.

"Didn't feel the _need_ to? Sasuke, _look_ at me!" Her palms, cold and clammy, pressed on either side of his warm cheeks, and forced him to lock eyes with her.

And he wished he didn't. He was actually feeling a little guilty. Sakura wasn't particularly pretty, but even he felt a little guilty when he made a pink-haired, green-eyed girl cry. This was _Sakura_, after all. His honest friend who did everything she could. The one he kissed when they were both sort of intoxicated—

Right. He wasn't supposed think about that. It was supposed to be hidden in the back of his memories.

"You're _hurt_, Sasuke," she whispered, and he averted his eyes. "We're your _friends_. Why won't you let us _help_ you?"

He could feel her breathing heavily, her hot breath condensing on his cheeks. It was sort of uncomfortable, in a way, but he could truly felt her concern emanating from her very being—and that was the most uncomfortable of all. He didn't _want_ to depend on people—it would only hurt more in the end.

"You're better off not hearing my problems."

"You help _us_!" She gave his head a shake, and he was forced to look at her again. "You shoulder all of our problems, so why can't we do the same? Do you even consider us as _friends_?"

_Yes,_ he wanted to say. There were a lot of things he wanted to say, but that'd be uncharacteristic of him, so he just kept his mouth shut.

"_Say_ something." She sounded as though she was giving up, and he didn't want her to. He wanted her to continue shaking him and continue screaming in his face until he finally woke up from this ridiculous sleep that he had been drifting in ever since his parents left him. Because if there was anyone could do it, it was the girl with pink hair and bright green eyes.

He looked at her, masking his face carefully. If she knew how much he cared about her—about _any_ of them—her, Naruto, and Ino—it'd be terrible. But then, he saw her quivering bottom lip again, and the tears that were beginning to accumulate at her chin. He sighed and stretched his arm out, tugging at the tissue box on his bedside table. Confused, she let go of his face as he dabbed at her cheeks and eyes.

Just this once, he promised himself. He'd only do this for her once. He couldn't stand seeing her like this. That, or maybe, he just wanted someone to stay beside him.

"I'll be fine," he finally said, bunching the damp tissue in his fist. His free hand tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, and she sniffed a little. Lifting his face up a little, just enough to feel her breath evening out again, he pressed his lips to hers softly, pulling away just before Naruto barged in.

Just this once. Never again.

Absolutely bewildered and wide-eyed, Sakura scurried past the blonde without a hello.

Naruto cocked his head when the door slammed behind her. "What was that about?"

Sasuke tried his best to hide his glare. "Check your pants, dobe."

He pulled at the elastic band of his ramen boxers, looking down them. "Yeah. What?"

"Is your dick still intact?"

"…Uh, yeah."

"It won't be when I'm done with you."

* * *

Sakura stood outside of Sasuke and Naruto's dorm, back against the wall, shaking.

Sasuke had just…What…?

Her hand was pressed to her mouth, and she could feel herself tearing up all over again, although she didn't know _why_ this time, and she thought that she'd have already cried herself dry, because she and Ino did a lot of that last night, and she had just emptied another week's worth just now.

But, being Sasuke, he pulled the strings and made it happen all over again.

What the hell. You didn't just go and _kiss_ your friends. That had been the absolute rule of life since ever. There were lines you weren't supposed to cross.

But, with one fell swoop, Sasuke blew all of those rules aside and just _broke_ them. Sasuke, who she had originally thought had a stick shoved up his ass—who probably still does—who was the prettiest boy she'd ever seen in her life, who was a _boy_ and her _friend_ but not a _boyfriend_.

He just ruined it. Goddamn.

Standing straight, although still a little wobbly, she made her way down to the cafeteria. Perhaps some coffee would do her some good. Black coffee.

* * *

"You alright? You seem kind of out of it," Naruto said to Sakura through a mouthful of bagel coated with cream cheese.

The pink-haired girl sitting beside him sipped at her coffee nervously. His kiss must've really got to her, Sasuke thought. At this, his lips curved into a smile, which he had to hide behind his hands.

Although, something told him he shouldn't be happy about that fact.

"Just sleepy," he heard her murmur. Across from them, Ino snorted.

"You were out like a light last night. Snoring like there was no tomorrow."

"Shut up, Pig."

He watched her out of the corner of his eye. Her hair was a little more mussed than it was when he saw her this morning, and her hands were shaking slightly. A (_very_) small part of him was unnerved by a timid Sakura—because Sakura was supposed to be _bright_ and _happy_ and _smiling_—but, he supposed, seeing this once in a while wasn't bad.

Not bad, Sasuke. Your skills hadn't rusted quite yet.

* * *

She found him just when he was alone in the library. Again, he had to commend her.

She didn't waste her time. She got straight to the point. "Why did you kiss me?" she demanded, all previous nerves from the morning apparently having disappeared. He smirked faintly. There was the Sakura he knew.

"Why not?" he asked lightly, browsing through the books he might need to catch up in Bio-Chem. Honestly, he only took it so he could spend a little more time with her…

"Why _not_? Well, because we're _friends_, and friends don't _do_ that to each other—that's why not!"

A librarian's hush resonated throughout the library.

"And who said friends couldn't kiss each other?" He didn't want to deal with this—really, he didn't. Even if he wanted to—which he _didn't_—he wouldn't know how to convey what he was feeling. Friendship and love—was there really a difference? Really?

Her face flamed. "It breaks all of the rules!" she hissed, voice lowered.

He quirked and eyebrow. "Rules?" He had never heard of rules for friendship before—but, then again, Naruto was the only person he really let in—and there was no way he'd do _anything_ with him.

"Yeah, rules! God, that stick up your ass—"

"Shut up, Sakura."

"—is really shoved in too deep! Are you really _that_ socially retarded, Sasuke? Friends don't kiss other friends!" She was blushing madly by now, breathing heavily.

He stared at her for a long moment, and quirked an eyebrow. "And?"

"_And?_ You just broke that rule! There's, like…There's no going back!" That fact seemed to have dawned onto her only now, and she looked dangerously close to fainting. He stepped closer to her, just to stay safe.

"But," he said slowly, carefully weighing his words on is tongue, "what if I don't want to go back?"

The world seemed to freeze at that moment. He didn't hear the quiet murmurs of the other students anymore, or the flipping of pages in the background. The hum of the furnace disappeared, and all there was right now was him, and Sakura. Just him and Sakura.

"Er…" She fidgeted a little. "What if I…do?" Her voice sounded hesitant—weary, even.

"I _don't_," he repeated firmly, taking her wrist in a tight grip. He wasn't quite sure of exactly what he was getting himself into, but he _did_ know that he appreciated Sakura. A girl who was a friend who wasn't a girlfriend—one that he wouldn't mind being a girlfriend. Even if she _was_ loud, sometimes, and reeking of bad morals—she was bearable.

She averted his gaze. "But…Lee…" she mumbled, almost inaudibly. His grip tightened on her wrist.

"You don't even like him."

"But—but he likes me."

"So?"

This was what he meant by bad morals. She was always criticizing him for not accepting love letters—and she was completely following her own advice. Listening to Lee, never pushing him away, even though she knew perfectly well that she didn't like him.

False hope was something he knew no one should ever have.

"So…I shouldn't be doing this while I'm still with him. It's not right." She grew a lot quieter now, but the frustration in his stomach only grew.

_She'll be alright,_ they had always said. _Your mom will be out soon._ But every time she was released from rehab, all the bad things started again. She got drunk. She got high. She even attempted suicide once.

"Why are you even with him?" he snapped, sounding much angrier than he had intended. She took a step back.

"B-Because he said he likes me!"

Even when she wasn't allowed out again, they kept on telling him, _We'll get her fixed up, and then you can have a parent again._

"Aren't relationships supposed to have mutual feelings?" The scowl set on his lips only deepened, and he let go of her wrist, turning away to start browsing the books again. He couldn't look her in the eye—her brilliant, green eyes—and think properly at the same time. She reminded him of who his mother used to be—optimistic, smart, and always smiling.

"It's not technically…a relationship…more of an agreement of sorts, I guess."

"Then that shouldn't affect anything we have between us." He didn't know what he was arguing for anymore. He wasn't even sure about being in a relationship at all, let alone with Sakura.

"But…!"

"Sakura." His eyes narrowed as he spun suddenly to face her again, only feeling slightly smug at her suddenly wide eyes. "If you're never going to like Lee back, _don't make him think he can win you over_."

"It—it's his own choice, really…"

"Because you're feeding him ideas that make him think he might get you in the end." She was in the verge of crying. Well, that wasn't really his fault. She was always an easy crier, anyway. "I don't accept love letters because those girls can do so many better things with their lives. How much time would they waste if I showed them even the tiniest bit of acceptance?" Okay, he was beginning to talk too much now. Time to shut up, Sasuke. Really. You are a stoic person. You show no feelings. Hush.

Her bottom lip began to tremble, and it was only then did he realize how close he was to her. And how he wanted to kind of kiss her senseless and make her shut up, too.

But that _so_ wasn't happening.

"Well, Sasuke, your way of doing things and my way of doing things are different, okay? It's my life—not yours!" Angry tears rolled down her cheeks, and she breathed heavily, challenging him with fierce, emerald eyes.

She reminded him too much of his mother, and he was afraid that something would happen that would make her an emotional wreck the way his mother was now.

He had to set her straight, and fast.

His eyes narrowed further. "I think I've been through a lot more than you have. I have the right to tell you what to do."

She was the one to glare at him now, cheeks still wet with tears. "Look, I know you're kind of having it kind of hard right now, with having no family left, and all, but you have no control over my life. Okay?" And she turned on her heels, and bolted right out of there.

Sasuke stood there, momentarily stunned.

Since when did she know he had no family left?

**

* * *

A/N:** ACTUALLY, it is quite possible to go back after crossing the lines of friends. I did that. :P I confessed to the guy I like, and he didn't feel the same, but we're still chummy. And I still like him. SO THERE, SAKURA.

And I was wondering—what do you guys actually like about this story? If you have the time, would you drop off a review or PM me or something? Because I see nothing outstanding about this, but it's still getting more attention than I would've thought…So yeah. What makes you guys like this fic?


	10. take a deep breath,

**sticks and stones**  
x: take a deep breath,

* * *

"That asshole!" Ino managed to say through a chocolate donut. "He can't just invade your personal space and _kiss_ you!"

"Yeah, well…" Sakura fidgeted with her bed sheets. "I don't know if I liked it or not…"

Her blonde friend paused. "Don't tell me you actually like him back."

"I…might. I don't know." Sakura felt ashamed. She had promised Naruto not to let anyone know that she was aware of Sasuke's past, but she had just blurted it out to him. Her stomach was spinning with a flurry of emotions, and she felt damn near miserable.

Ino shrugged, looking a lot more laid-back about this than Sakura would've liked. "Well, at least, now you have a reason to dump Lee."

"But I _can't_ dump Lee!" Every time she thought about it, she felt a little sick. The thought of breaking up with someone and just letting him down—that frightened her more than anything.

"Face it, Forehead. If he can't win over someone as ugly as you, he can't win over anyone. It's high time you told him that, 'cause it's true." Ino scowled at her laptop. "What the hell! Kiba's profile says he's in a relationship with Hyuuga Hinata! That's so gross!"

She rolled her eyes. "Get off Facebook, Pig. It's not worth it."

"Kiba and _Hinata_? I'm not going to accept that!"

"He doesn't care if you accept it or not."

The blonde narrowed her eyes are her. "Your boy advice isn't very good, y'know."

"Right back at you."

Bickering was their way of comforting each other. And, a lot of the time, it worked for the both of them. Sakura wasn't sure if she could make Ino feel better about Kiba—but this time, she couldn't feel better about Lee and Sasuke.

She looked over to her desk, where a fishbowl sat, with a goldfish in it.

That damn thing wasn't helping, either.

* * *

"I think this has gone a bit too far." Naruto watched Ino tap her bottom lip with her pen.

He raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about?"

"Sasuke and Sakura. D'you think they're really going to get together?"

Confusion swept his mind. "If they're going to get together, teme would've at least told me." After all, they had only kissed that time he and Ino spiked their drinks, right? Sakura didn't remember it (it was kind of funny, really), and Sasuke hadn't mentioned it since.

The other blonde rolled her eyes. "Well, I don't suppose Sasuke would tell you anything minor. He kissed her again—did you know_ that_?"

Silence.

He choked on his own spit.

"_What?_" Oh, he was going to give Sasuke _hell_. Just because he told Sakura and Ino that Itachi died didn't give him the right to not let him in on his near non-existent love life! What a loser.

"Yeah. And I honestly think he feels something towards her."

Naruto thought about it. "But that's a good thing! It means she finally has a reason to dump Lee!" Just the thought of his two close friends hooking up made him near ecstatic.

"But can't you see the potential _disaster_?"

He blinked. "No." Sasuke and Sakura were, now that he thought about it, made for each other. Sasuke was a stiff little prick, and Sakura was a down-to-earth, real girl who didn't take interest in stupid things. They evened each other out.

"Sasuke's _way_ too hot for Sakura, and she'd only cling to him—"

He rolled his eyes. "Ino, if I didn't know better, I'd think you were jealous," he said sarcastically. "Just face it—you hate that every relationship you have ends up horribly, and yet, Sakura's relationship with Lee right now is going smoothly even though the feelings aren't mutual. And now, Sasuke might like her, and you're mad because you _know_ they'd make a good combination."

It was silent for a long moment.

"It isn't fair," the other blonde finally said, quiet. "It's _never_ fair. Why do I attract all the jerks?"

"I'm not a jerk," he said innocently. She turned, and narrowed her eyes at him. The cafeteria was beginning to fill up for lunch, but he didn't notice all too much.

Well, he was a happy-go-lucky guy from the start. He'll just go with the flow.

"But you're stupid," she told him, lips curving into a smirk.

"Hey!" He kicked her under the table, and managed to pull a laugh out of her. She deserved some happiness, he thought. Well, at least, as far as her love life went, anyway.

She smiled at him, and he got the sudden temptation to squeeze her nose.

So he did.

"What was that for?" She frowned, lightly punching his arm. He laughed, and shifted himself a little closer to her. She felt nice being beside him like that.

He grinned. "That night, you said we could do it again. Can we, right now?" That earned him a frustrated glare.

"No."

But she let him peck her on the cheek, anyway.

* * *

The atmosphere was tense. Sasuke was able to tell that much.

"It's almost winter break," Sakura tried to chirp lightly. "You guys looking forward to seeing Lee?" It was a rhetorical question, he knew, but he had to answer anyway.

"No."

This would make all of them smile, he knew—that's why he did it. Okay, so he was Sasuke—but that didn't mean that he was heartless. Seeing their lips curve upwards made the grip around his heart loosen a little.

"What about going home?"

"No."

"Um…How about relaxing?"

"Hn."

She rolled her eyes. "You're such a sore-ass, Sasuke. Learn to smile."

"You're the one who says I have a stick shoved up there," he retorted, shifting his attention back to his lunch. At this, he heard Naruto laugh, and the tension surrounding them lessened, just a little.

The rest of them began chatting again. Sasuke fished his phone out of his pocket, and checked his texts. Half of them were from girls he didn't even know. Perhaps he should change his number. Again.

He sighed inaudibly. Itachi's funeral was this Friday; he'd need to leave school one day early. Who was there to attend it, anyway? Maybe a couple of other Uchihas, and a friend or two.

At this thought, he scowled at the screen of his phone. Humanity was so goddamn _stupid_.

_Hey Sasuke, its Ayame! Do u want to hang out 2nite?_

Who the _hell_ was Ayame?

This time, he really _was_ all alone. There was no more family—not even his druggie of a brother. He had known that Itachi did ecstasy, and from time to time, marijuana—but who was Sasuke to tell him off? Maybe he'd move in with Naruto, and sell the house. Yeah. That might be a plan. He didn't want to see his home anymore.

He'd bring it up when he webt over Itachi's will with his lawyer…

He looked over at Sakura, who was laughing at a joke Naruto made. He liked it when she smiled. It looked so bright; so real.

After briefly asking himself why he had to make such a huge mess out of a girl who wasn't even interested in him, he distracted himself before he got even sulkier. Naruto was always telling him how unhealthy it was—maybe he was right. For once.

He got another text from that Fukuzawa girl. Seriously, she needed to take the hint. He didn't like her.

_Can u meet me at the library later? I need some help with psych._

He clenched his phone, perhaps a little tighter than necessary, as he pressed _reply_. Honestly, she was such a waste of texts, but, if he didn't respond, she'd bother him in class, and that was even worse.

_I'm busy. Sorry._

As if he really meant the apology. Hah. In her face. The only girl he had eyes for was Sakura.

Wait.

He backtracked.

That wasn't right, Sasuke. Even in your mind, you weren't supposed to acknowledge girls. He didn't like Sakura. That kiss before—he just wanted to make her feel better. And he was really good at making girls feel better.

Yeah. He didn't like Sakura.

…God, what was she _doing_ to him?

* * *

"Sasuke!" He turned around to see Sakura chasing him. He waited until she reached him, panting. He quirked an eyebrow; he was just about to return to his dorm and pack. He had to leave tomorrow.

He watched her tuck a lock of hair behind her hair. "What do you want?" She wasn't exactly someone he was thrilled to see right now.

_For you to fall in love with me,_ she said with a faint smile. He snorted mentally to himself.

Yeah, right.

"Can you help me with that World Lit. project? I'm kind of stuck."

Did he really have the time? Naruto was the only one who knew he was leaving a day early, and he didn't plan to change that. She _did_ get pretty ticked off the last time he didn't tell her something, but this was small. She probably wouldn't get mad.

But still, he couldn't say no to her. She was the only girl he couldn't say no to.

He rolled his eyes. "Fine."

They made their way back to Sakura's dorm in silence. It wasn't an uncomfortable silence, though. One of the reasons why he liked being with Sakura was because she didn't chatter incessantly about pointless things all of the time.

The snow crunched under their feet; their breaths were visible in the cold air. "Why are you doing that project now, when it's due after break?"

"I have some free time, anyway, and I don't want to spend Christmas cooped up at home, doing homework."

He was glad she wasn't acting funny—he didn't like it when girls acted funny around him. She was still his Sakura—er, _just_ Sakura—no matter what boundaries he had stepped over. Thank God she was mature.

He dropped his bag unceremoniously to the floor when he entered her dorm, and sat down in his usual spot. She followed suit. Naruto and Ino were nowhere to be seen.

"Which play did you pick?" Sakura asked, pulling out her notes and a book.

"_Julius Caesar_. You?"

She showed him the cover of her book. _Romeo and Juliet_. Well, that should've been obvious. Nearly all of the girls chose _Romeo and Juliet_.

"What is it that you need help on?" He took out his own notes and copy of _Julius Caesar_. They were supposed to analyze their chosen play, find symbols and connections, and recite a chosen soliloquy of choice. Really, Shakespeare was so middle school.

"I'm not too sure of how to analyze it. What did Kakashi-sensei mean by that?"

"You finished reading it already?"

She shrugged. "I studied it back in tenth grade."

"You should've chosen another play, then." She could've done just as well with a play she hadn't read before. Although, he shouldn't be talking, he supposed; he had read _Julius Caesar_ before as well.

"I was lazy, okay? He didn't say it had to be one we haven't read before."

"Hn." He pulled out some paper, and got writing.

The silence didn't last very long. "So? Can you help? I didn't invite you over so you could just sit there."

Aside from Ino, she might be one of the rudest girls he'd ever come to know. It was something respectable, if he said so himself. After jotting two points down, he looked at her, quite seriously. "Just do an outline of it."

"That's what I thought, too, but after knowing Kakashi-sensei for a while, I really doubt that's all we have to do."

"What's the lowest mark you've ever gotten from him? Ninety?"

She punched his arm lightly. "Well, I want to get the best I can! If I'm not able to be a neurosurgeon, I'm going to move into literature!" He shot her a glare, because there weren't many girls who dared touch him, let alone hit—and there was no way he was letting his pride go down the drain.

Goddamn. She looked really pretty right now.

He shrugged. "You'd do just fine without me."

"Are you going to do an outline?" She peered over at his paper, quite obviously, as he scribbled down _orchard soliloquy_.

"I'm not sure yet. Probably." She needed to move away from him. Hadn't she even heard of the term _personal space_? She's practically breathing the same air as him. Ew. He didn't like sharing his air.

Well, he didn't really mind sharing with Sakura—but now was definitely not the time to let go of his denial.

"Stop avoiding the question!"

"I'm not," he said flatly. "You're just annoying."

"And you've got a stick shoved up your ass!"

He looked at her, eyes only faintly reflecting his humor. "That's getting old. Find something new."

She puffed out her cheeks angrily, like the way a child would if she didn't get her way. "With the minimal interest you have in me right now, I can't believe you actually kissed me." Did he mention how cute she looked when she made that expression?

"I only kissed you because it'd shut you up." She started it, anyway. If she never kissed him that night Ino spiked their coffee, he probably wouldn't _be_ in this mess—

"Hey!" She punched him. (Again.)

"Stop hitting me, Sakura."

"I'll stop when you stop being so rude! I have a boyfriend, and you have no right to touch me that way—" For how long was she going to continue talking like that? She was barring herself behind these stupid excuses because she was too afraid to face him herself—

"You're the one who started it," he retorted, scribbling furiously on his paper. God, women these days.

There was a pause. "Excuse me? You call me barging into your room _starting it_?"

Right. Well, she didn't remember, since she obviously couldn't hold her alcohol very well. That didn't give her an excuse, though. Sasuke, you started this—you couldn't back down now. "You like me. Admit it."

"Wh—what made you think _that_?" she spluttered, seemingly forgetting about _Romeo and Juliet_. He couldn't decide if it was a good thing or not.

"When you were drunk, you made a move on me," he said flatly.

Oh, that expression on her face was _priceless_.

"…_What?_"

He could die happy. Seriously. He looked at her pointedly. "Technically speaking, it's your fault we're even here right now."

"Why…" Her face flushed. He felt smug. "Why didn't you _tell_ me?"

His shoulders rose and fell slightly in a faint shrug. "I didn't see a reason to." Something told him that they saw things in completely different perspectives. Didn't girls take these things really seriously, or something?

Well, he should know, considering how he had more than half of the female population drooling over him.

"You're…You're _crazy_." She shook her head disbelievingly, looking away. "I can't believe—oh, my God…"

He raised an eyebrow.

"I…I cheated on Lee. That's like going against my morals. It's…" She promptly took her copy of _Romeo and Juliet_ and began bashing it against her forehead. "He's going to _kill_ me!"

Sasuke feigned sighing heavily. "You were drunk."

"That doesn't change the fact that _I_ kissed _you_, and not the other way around!"

"Whatever." After ruffling the back of his hair a little, he gathered his papers and books, and placed them all back into his bag. "Think it over yourself. I have things to do." The look on her face clearly said, _As a man, you need to take responsibility,_ but he kept his eyes straight ahead and stalked out the door.

Because he knew that if he looked back, he probably would've stayed.

* * *

Sakura looked around the table, the aroma of coffee wafting around the cafeteria. "Where's Sasuke?"

Naruto looked up from his breakfast. "Didn't he tell you? He's at his brother's funeral."

She nearly choked on her own spit.

"_What?_"

**

* * *

A/N:** Wow, thanks so much for all of the feedback for the last chapter! I'm overwhelmed! The two most common points that people said they liked about this fic was how it was realistic and not clichéd, and how it was in character. Which makes me think—what about this is _not_ cliché? Doesn't it follow every one out there? (I honestly don't like this fic. I wrote it ages ago. But I don't like not finishing things up, and you guys ask for it…so yeah.)

But thanks for all of your input. Some people even bothered to PM me—I replied to those people. :)

And a shout-out to Un!sawr, who always gives such awesome reviews—but I always forget to mention her. (Her? Him? It! Hah. Dino.) Thanks so much!


	11. and jump into the unknown—

**sticks and stones**  
xi: and jump into the unknown—

* * *

"Thank you for coming," he murmured as he shook hands with yet another man her barely recognized.

It was a cold day. Snow was already beginning to fall outside, so the ceremony is being held inside a church. Somehow, even though the building was full of people, the way their voices bounced off the stone walls just made Sasuke feel that much lonelier.

He sighed. He was probably born to be a solitary man. He was only eighteen, but he had no family left already. Misfortune was out to get him.

Or maybe, it was just karma. Who knew.

Briefly, he wondered how Naruto, Sakura, and Ino were doing. He only told Naruto about going to the funeral. He didn't tell girls these types of things—they only made it a lot fussier than it should be. It was annoying.

A faint smirk reached his lips when he realized that Sakura would probably be pissed once she found out.

Well, one more thing to look forward to, he supposed.

The number of people who were attending Itachi's funeral was astounding. In all honesty, Sasuke expected more than half of them to be drug dealers, or something, considering the people his brother hung out with, but there were a few people from high-class corporations that even he could recognize.

God, just what kind of monster _was_ he?

Upon glancing at his clock, he concluded that it was almost time for the ceremony to start, and wandered away from the main doors.

He took a deep breath. He could do this. He'd been through much harsher things in his life. He could do this.

At least, hopefully he could.

* * *

"Are you sure Sasuke's alright?" Sakura asked with worry as she drank her Pepsi.

"He's always like this," Naruto said carelessly, plopping down on the couch beside her, pair of chopsticks in hand as he waited for his cup ramen to finish cooking. "Leave him alone for a while."

"Shouldn't we go visit him, at least?" Even Ino looked a little anxious; her cell phone was clenched in her hand, knuckles somewhat white.

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Relax. We're two blocks away from him. If his house blows up, we'll know for sure."

Sakura promptly punched him, earning a grunt.

She hadn't seen Sasuke in three days. Normally, that wouldn't be much of a problem—he was such an independent person, after all. And the more time she spent with him, the more confused she'd feel. Ever since the recent drama (like, no joke), things had been a little…hectic. Inside her mind, at least.

They were at Naruto's house, spending time together for the Christmas break. Sakura _loved_ Christmas—not because of the gifts, but because of the festive cheer everyone had during that time of year.

Of course, something she wasn't looking forward to so much was meeting Lee.

Well, that was a little obvious.

Usually, she'd be fine with seeing him. He was her boyfriend, after all—it was sort of her duty to spend time with him, and he wasn't always that strange. He was a nice, honest guy.

Due to recent events, however…

She coughed, slumping back even deeper into the couch. "You'd better not spill that on me," she warned Naruto as he took his cup ramen and promptly began slurping it up ungracefully. "That's sick."

Sasuke. How was he, really?

God, Sakura, shut up. Just because he was probably one of the best looking boys you were ever going to meet in your life didn't mean you had to think about him twenty-four-seven.

…No, but seriously.

How was he?

* * *

He lay in bed, contemplating.

He could head over to Naruto's right now, the way they did every year for Christmas break, or he could stay in bed for the rest of his life.

Quite frankly, both options seemed very tempting.

Itachi's funeral was finally over and done with, as well as the paperwork that had to do with his will. Everything the Uchihas had ever owned now belonged to him. He was filthy rich. For all he cared, he could never work in his life, and still have enough money to live exclusively until he was forty.

It was ridiculous, how disgustingly rich his family was.

He heard his cell phone vibrate on the surface of his bedside table, and he contemplated taking it. Someone had just sent him a text message—should he really bother checking? It could be another girl he didn't know. Or Fukuzawa (again). Dear God, that girl texted him at least fifty times since he left school.

Finally deciding that there wasn't really anything to do anyway, he reached over with much effort and picked up his phone.

It was from Sakura.

_Hey, Sasuke. How are you doing?_

Upon reading the message, his entire body felt lighter. Less stressed. He didn't know why, but with renewed energy, he pressed the "reply" button and was readily typing back.

Maybe he should get out of bed. And do something productive. Just maybe.

His phone vibrated on in his hand again, and he checked it immediately.

_Hey Sasuke-kun! Why haven't u been replying to my texts? Have u run out this month? Call me if u want 2 hang out!_

Hell. It was Fukuzawa. Again. Screw her.

Groaning, he rolled over on his bed. His body was growing cramped from staying in the same position for too long. If Sakura didn't text him back, he wasn't going to get up today, he decided. There wasn't anything particular he had to do anyway.

God, and people actually thought he was a neat and tidy person. Like hell he was.

Upon feeling the anticipated vibration in his hand, he checked his phone. It was from Sakura. (A part of him felt a little sad, because he actually had to get up now.)

_Ino and I are at Naruto's right now. Why don't you come over? It's unhealthy to be alone all the time, you know._

Maybe getting up wasn't so bad after all. Making up his mind, he hauled himself out of bed and ruffled the back of his hair. It was one in the afternoon—hooray for no school.

He supposed he wanted to see Sakura, after all.

The world was going mad. It kind of felt like he was actually producing some hormones for the first time in years.

* * *

"Yo, Sasuke!" Naruto clapped his hand on Sasuke's back as the Uchiha finally arrived at his front door. "Good to see you, man!"

A weight seemed to be lifted off Naruto's shoulders the moment he saw his best friend. He knew Sasuke would recover eventually, but with everything that had happened in the past, he thought he deserved something a little better. Like friends. Yeah, Sasuke needed some friends. (More, he meant.)

The raven-haired boy shoved him off, and removed his shoes. "Hn."

"Sasuke!" Sakura bounded to the front door, practically beaming. (He bet ten bucks that she and Sasuke were going to hook up.) "I'm so glad you came!" Ino came following not long after, and he felt his heart jump to his throat.

Maybe it was that ramen. He _did_ eat it kind of fast.

He bit the inside of his cheek. Sasuke didn't know that Sakura and Ino were aware of him leaving early because of Itachi's funeral. He hoped it wasn't too big of a deal.

(Because it was obvious they were going to say something about it—they were _girls_, after all—and it was obvious Sasuke would throw some male hissy fit, and take it all out of him later. Naruto hated that—he was such a moody bitch sometimes.)

"How are you feeling?" Sakura asked with concern, tugging Sasuke gently towards the living room. Naruto rolled his eyes; she was like his makeshift mother.

The two disappeared, and he felt Ino sidle up to him. "They're getting pretty comfortable with each other," she said with slight defeat.

"I'm going to stay single all my life," he sighed, slumping his shoulders.

"Don't say that." Ino smiled at him—what a pretty smile, he mused—he always knew she was one of the hottest girls to have ever graced the earth, but when she combined that smile with her words, it seemed to mean so much more. "I'm sure there's a girl out there for you."

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Since when did you say things like that?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. I felt the moment called for it." There was a pause. "I, uh, do kind of like you, you know."

He looked over at her. "Yeah, I like you too."

Her shoulders slumped, and she gave him that _you're stupid_ look that he was so prone to receive from her. "That wasn't what I meant!" she snapped. "I—ugh, God, Naruto, you're so stupid!"

Pause. "What?" He was confused.

"Ugh, never mind!" And she stalked away.

…What?

* * *

"Can I, uh, see your iPod?" Sasuke was pulled from his reverie by Sakura's voice. He grunted, passing his most prized possession (after his phone) over to her.

Over on the other side of the room, Naruto and Ino were arguing about something. He wasn't sure what, and didn't intend to find out. Blondes, he had come to realize, were all like that. Loud, a little obnoxious, and sometimes overly oblivious.

"Wow," Sakura mused. "You listen to We the Kings?"

He grunted. "Is there something wrong with them?" He quite liked that band, actually; they had catchy tunes, and good lyrics.

"Not really…" She shrugged. "I like them too. It's just that I kind of expected some…different stuff, is all." She was bent over his iPod, and he wasn't sure if she was purposely pressing her body closer to his on the couch or not.

"Like what?"

"I don't know. Fall Out Boy. Death Cab for Cutie. Something like that."

"They're alright, too." What was with people and assuming that he listened to depressing-slash-angry-slash-angsting music all of the time? Seriously, he wouldn't have any friends that way. "Why?"

She looked at him, eyebrow raised. How could she be so comfortable with being so close to him? Or had it always been that way, and he had never noticed?

Oh, come on. He noticed everything.

"Well, I like them. I suppose. We the Kings isn't even that well known, either." Her attention shifted back to his iPod as her thumb moved over the spin wheel. "So, um…we're hanging out with Lee tomorrow. Would you…like to come?"

Her boyfriend? He thought about it for a moment.

He kind of didn't want to deal with seeing him and Sakura being all…couple-like. It was sort of weird, considering that Sasuke had done more to her than he ever would. It was awkward, too. Technically, Sakura cheated on Lee with him. So…

"Sure." He shrugged.

…It wasn't like he had anything to do tomorrow.

"Are you planning to tell him?" he asked offhandedly. He didn't need to specify what he was talking about—they both knew. It was a matter that was still pretty delicate between them, but he was sure Sakura would only go mad tomorrow if she didn't straighten things out right now.

She seemed to tense beside him. "Probably…not. Why?"

He shrugged. It sure wasn't because he wanted Sakura for his own, if that was what she was thinking. "Nothing in particular."

"Oh." She looked at him, eyes linger on his face for a moment before returning to his iPod in an awkward silence. We the Kings was playing in his ear, and suddenly, he felt like switching to Fall Out Boy or Death Cab for Cutie. Just, you know, for a little while.

A few more minutes passed, before she suddenly turned and leaned closer to him, as if inspecting his face. He masked the slight surprise on his face as she turned her head a little.

Was she drunk again? Just, like, all of a sudden?

She had very clear eyes. It wasn't that he hadn't noticed before, but it just seemed much more apparent now. And her hair had the faintest of scents—kind of like cherry blossoms—

He blinked when she took an earphone out of one of his ears.

"Sorry," she said apologetically, a smile playing on her lips. "I just wanted to listen with you." With that, she turned up the volume a little, and leaned back into the couch beside him; their forearms still touching, their thighs still touching.

By now, Sasuke was pretty sure he was going mad.

This was why he never told Sakura anything. When he did, she usually found a way to spend more time with him. And when she spent more time with him—

He usually went mad.

**

* * *

A/N:** There are some parts of this that didn't really make sense to me when I was reading this over, but I'm just so tired of this story. I want to get it over with. After this, there are only three chapters left, so I'm almost there.

I'm writing a new light-hearted AU SasuSaku—hopefully it'll be better than this one? Hopefully I'll finish it?

And you guys, I'm really flattered that you all like this fic so much, but please don't PM me, telling me to update. If anything, it'll make me do it later, just to spite you. I would like to remind you that I write 30% for you guys, and 70% for me. And I know that sounds terrible and bitchy, but that's how it makes me feel. I'll update when I update. I _will_ update—if I post a multi-chaptered story, it's because I'm either finished, or nearly finished writing it. I'm not like most other writers, who post without thinking.

**ALSO…**

f a d i n g by Kichi Penn—a fic she's writing dedicated to me. You guys should all go read it! It's really good. :3 If you can't find it, it's under my favorites.

Long A/N. D: Sorry.


	12. because, in the end, it'll be alright

**sticks and stones**  
xii: because, in the end, it'll be alright.

* * *

"Lee," Sakura said with familiarity as she approached him at the mall. "How are you?"

It seemed her boyfriend didn't lose his odd little spark as he grinned, giving her a thumbs up. "Wonderful, Sakura-san! And you?"

She couldn't help but smile herself. "I'm great! College is so much fun—you wouldn't believe it!" Despite everything, Lee was still a great person. Even if things didn't work out romantically. (At this thought, she felt a little guilty, and glanced behind her where Sasuke and the rest of them were.)

Her boyfriend grinned. "Naruto-kun! Ino-san! Have you brought a new friend?"

Sakura pulled Sasuke over by the arm enthusiastically. "This is Sasuke. He's really good at soccer—I'm sure you two will get along really well."

Sasuke grunted.

Lee extended his hand to shake. "Sasuke-kun, we will have a one-on-one soccer match one day, alright?"

She giggled at her friend's expression, because it was so obvious he wasn't alright with it.

* * *

Lee glanced at Sakura, who was looking at scarves with Ino. He glanced at Naruto, who was checking out some t-shirts with him. He glanced at Sasuke, who stood in the corner, waiting.

He pursed his lips.

* * *

"Say, isn't that _cute_?" Sakura gushed as she pointed at one of the prizes in the arcade. "D'you think I could win that, Pig?"

"Your hand-eye coordination is like that of a monkey's," her blonde friend told her. "No way you could get a hoop around it." Sakura's brows furrowed with distaste. "Get Lee to get it for you." Her aim wasn't _that_ bad, really…

She glanced over, to where Lee was cheering Naruto on at some shooting game. She flinched when guts splashed all over the screen.

"You want that one?"

…Or Sasuke could get it for her.

* * *

"Oh my God," Ino breathed, staring at a pair of silver strappy heels, each embedded with clear stone of some sort—diamond?—through the store window. "They're _beautiful_."

Naruto, yawning, walked to stand beside her and leaned down to inspect the heels. "Don't you already have a pair like that?"

"Not with those stones!" She felt lightheaded. "They're—they're absolutely _breathtaking_." Weird, she thought, how a simple pair of shoes could make her weak in the knees. But maybe it was the ridiculously large number written on the price tag that made her feel that way. She sighed, resigned. "Oh well. Breathtaking things are often only found in dreams."

"What do you mean?"

She looked at Naruto pointedly. "Look at the price of those things. Come back and ask me that when you can afford them."

There was a pause as the boy inspected the heels further. "What the hell," he retorted indignantly. "That could buy me five months' worth of ramen. At least."

Ino sighed again, feeling dejected. "Yeah."

Oh, well. She'll dream about these shoes tonight. She'll be happy then.

* * *

Upon staring at himself in the mirror of the restaurant bathroom, Sasuke was tempted to slap himself.

…Not that he would, of course. He was just tempted to.

He needed to stop being so kind to Sakura. It was out of character for him. It was abnormal. Weird. That, and she had a boyfriend. Albeit, one that she didn't particularly like, but that wasn't the point, really.

He took a deep breath, and stared at himself right in the eyes.

_I vow not to treat Sakura in ways that could be misinterpreted as more than friends._

There. When Sasuke made vows, he kept them, no matter what. He had too much dignity not to. Even if the vow was to himself.

He didn't look up when the sound of the door opening echoed in the restroom. However, when he caught a flash of green in his peripheral vision, he did. "Hn," he greeted to Lee, who turned and made his way to the urinal. The other boy only gave him a nod before promptly unzipping his pants and tending to his business.

In a really strange way, it was kind of awkward.

"Uchiha Sasuke," Lee suddenly said in a declamatory tone. His voice bounced off the walls of the room. "I see you have eyes on my Sakura-san."

He nearly choked on his own spit, but managed to keep his cool demeanor. Just barely. "Excuse me?"

"I may be thick-headed and stubborn, but I am not stupid." Sakura's boyfriend zipped up his pants before making his way to wash his hands in the sink beside him. "You're interested in her."

How could he know that, when Sasuke wasn't even sure of his own feelings yet?

Wait. That wasn't right. He didn't have any feelings at all. Haruno Sakura was nothing more than a friend. This was why he liked her—because she didn't see him in a romantic sense. Right. He needed to remember that.

"I'm not," he told Lee curtly.

"It's alright if you don't admit it to me, Sasuke-kun." When Lee turned off the tap, the silence in the room made some dramatic pause. "I'm planning…to end this relationship anyway."

Sasuke couldn't mask his surprise about that. His eyes widened by a fraction.

This guy was just packed with surprises, wasn't he?

"Why's that?" he asked nonchalantly, crossing his arms and looking at him pointedly. "I received the impression that you really like her." Throughout the entire day, Sasuke thought that this person was so open, so easy to read—but in a moment, he just closed himself off from everyone else. Sasuke couldn't tell anymore.

"Ah, but I do," Lee said, almost wistfully, as he dried his hands on some paper towel. "But she doesn't feel the same."

"I thought you were aware of that?"

"Much time has passed." His voice was a little upset, he thought, but he couldn't judge. "I've been talking to one of my friends. I don't deserve the right to keep her from dating other boys that she likes."

Sasuke's heart jumped at that comment, although he had no idea why—and he didn't really want to know.

Finally, he asked slowly, as if he was afraid of the answer, "When are you going to do it?"

Lee sounded resolute. "By the end of today. I don't know when I'll see her next, but I want to do it in person."

Somewhere in the back of his head, Sasuke wondered how Sakura would react. Would she be happy? Upset? Relieved? In fact, he wasn't even sure how _he_ felt. In a way, it was like a weight was lifted off his shoulders. It was kind of like he could breathe easier.

He tried not to remember the fact that, technically, Sakura cheated on Lee with him.

"I see." He looked straight at Lee, locking eyes with him. "I appreciate it."

Lee arched an eyebrow. "Appreciate what?"

"That you would like to do it in person. Few do."

He looked sheepish. "It's the least I can do, I suppose. I don't think I've satisfied her." Then, his brows furrowed. "But you can, Sasuke-kun. I can tell. I've known Sakura-san since I was thirteen—she cares deeply about you. Even if you don't know."

"Whether she does or not is none of my concern," he said, perhaps a little too shortly. They were broaching a subject he wasn't comfortable with.

"It's _my_ concern," Lee said earnestly. "I care about her. And I'm going to do what I can to make her happy."

Why did he feel as if this scene was getting extremely cliché?

"Her happiness has nothing to do with me."

The older boy looked at him with furrowed, as if thinking. "It does. You'll come to see, Sasuke-kun." He then brightened up. "I will not let Sakura-san's youth go to waste!"

And with that, the cliché spell was broken.

(And thank God, too.)

* * *

On the way back to Sasuke's place (it was his turn to host their annual winter break sleepover), Naruto, somehow, felt thoroughly pleased.

If he counted up all the money in his wallet, along with everything he had in his bank account, he _should_ have enough to afford those shoes that Ino was drooling over. (Although, why anyone would price shoes that high, and why anyone would even want shoes that expensive was beyond him.)

Why he was willing to spend all that money for her was beyond him, too.

He glanced at Ino as she played Rock Paper Scissors Slap with Lee, yelling triumphantly when she won with rock against scissors, slapping the back of his hand hard, leaving it even redder than it was before. The fluttering feeling in his stomach felt more than familiar; it was often present when he talked, or even just looked at Sakura, back in middle school.

Naruto was more than happy to accept these feelings with open arms.

* * *

"Sakura-san."

She turned her head, her unrolled sleeping bag in hand. "Yes?" Lee stood there with his arms hanging by his sides in his typical Lee fashion.

"I would like to talk to you privately, if that's alright with you."

It took her a moment before she found it in her to swallow and nod. Dropping her sleeping back on the floor, she left the living room where Ino, Naruto, and Sasuke were and followed her boyfriend into the kitchen in the next room over.

She didn't notice Sasuke's eyes on her retreating back, and it was probably been better that way.

Numerous thoughts raced through her mind within the time span of the five seconds that it took to make it into the kitchen. Even more came in the two seconds that it took for Lee to close the door behind him.

This was it. It was over. He found out about her and Sasuke. That had got to be it. Guilt washed over her, and she tugged at the bottom of her shirt with clammy hands.

Or maybe he'd finally found someone else he cares about who truly likes him back. Somehow, something tugged at her heart painfully.

Or did Sasuke threaten him to let go of her? That seemed highly unlikely, but it was always a possibility…

Lee cleared his throat, and she started a little, being pulled out of her reverie.

"I have come to realize that recently…" He trailed off for a moment. "I have been mistreating you." She stared at him incredulously once she registered what he was saying. Mistreating her? Wasn't it the other way around?

"You…have?" she echoed weakly.

He nodded. "I have. I've been caught up in my own youth. I didn't consider how you felt about our relationship, even if I did accept that my feelings are unrequited. You must've felt caged by me."

She honestly couldn't believe that he was saying this. "No! I—I've never felt that way!" And she hadn't. Every moment she had spent with him, she was truly and honestly happy, even if he was a little exuberant at times—even if she didn't enjoy it the way he wanted her to.

"Perhaps not." At this point, Lee's voice began to falter, and she slowly resigned to just drowning in the guilt of making him this way. "But it's still the truth. I'm keeping you from true happiness. I'm wasting your youth and love."

In a way, she was touched. Really.

She swallowed thickly. "Yeah, but…I didn't mind. Really. I still don't." God, this was getting too emotional and sappy for her. She wasn't used to it.

He looked close to tears, now. (And a crying Lee wasn't a pretty thing. Seriously.) "I don't think this relationship should continue."

No. No, no, no. He did _not_ just say that.

"It should," she said quickly, before she was able to think it through. "I really do like being with you, Lee. Don't…Don't end this." Aw, shit, was she going to cry too? This wasn't a very pretty break-up-make-up scene. At all.

"I'm…honored, Sakura-san." Lee swallowed. "But I know you don't love me."

She took a shaky breath, calming herself down. "Why are you even _saying_ that?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper. "Both of us know that it'll only be to your advantage if we stay together. Just…Just take advantage of me. I really don't mind." Because if their relationship ended now, she'd have to deal with Sasuke, and she really didn't know how to confront him.

"You and Sasuke-kun would make a great match," he said suddenly, as if he was reading her mind. Her heart almost stopped at his words. "He could make you much happier than I ever could."

"Chivalry is dead," she told him, voice cracking. She sniffled a little. "Stop it."

"It's only right—"

"One more day," she interrupted, almost desperately. "Let me be your girlfriend…for one more day."

There was a long silence, and Sakura met his dark eyes evenly. She took a deep breath, steadied her breathing, and swallowed the tears. She wasn't about to cry.

"Alright," Lee finally agreed quietly. "One more day. But after tomorrow, we're nothing more than friends."

Her smile was small. "Okay."

Somehow, that felt a lot more painful than it should.

* * *

When Sakura and Lee emerged from the kitchen with their fingers intertwined, Sasuke felt absolutely furious. Wasn't Lee planning to break up with her today? Why were they still acting like a couple? Lee wasn't staying for the sleepover, so he'd be leaving soon.

Sasuke turned away from them to hide his deep scowl.

There was only one answer. Lee lied to him.

That bastard.

But then, a thought even worse entered his mind.

He actually _cared_ about the fact that Sakura was still taken.

**

* * *

A/N:** You guys probably hate me right now, hahaha.

I haven't really be satisfied with anything I've been writing lately—and your lack of reviews only confirms it. School has been weighing down on me for the last while, but hopefully things will get better. I promise my writing will get better too!

And thanks always for your patience and support!


	13. read: just stfu and get with the program

**sticks and stones**  
xiii: read: just stfu and get with the program.

* * *

A little before midnight, Sakura saw Lee to the door.

She knew he was waiting for their usual goodbye; a shy smile, and maybe even a hug, before he gave her the thumbs up sign and went on his way. But somehow, she felt he deserved more than that.

"Is something the matter, Sakura-san?" Her boyfriend looked concerned.

She shook her head, her smile weak. "No, nothing. I was just thinking."

"About what?"

"Well…" She played with her fingers, averting her gaze to the floor. "Just close your eyes for a sec, okay?" She flushed deeply at the thought, heartbeat speeding up just a little. Her eyes darted towards him. "No peeking!"

Lee, looking a little taken aback, did as he was told.

They both stood there for a long moment—Sakura, contemplating, and Lee, with his eyes closed. Finally, she shuffled a little closer to him. His body shifted ever so slightly to adjust to their closer proximity, but his eyes were kept shut the entire time. Sakura tentatively raised herself to her tiptoes and placed two hesitant hands on his shoulders.

She could not believe she was actually going through with this.

Very shakily, she pressed her lips to his for the shortest of moments. When he opened his eyes again, he looked absolutely shell-shocked and speechless. Actually, it was quite amusing.

"Sakura…-san?" he asked weakly, voice suddenly raspy.

She smiled shyly before looking away, hiding her steadily darkening cheeks. "I think you should go. Your parents are going to be worried."

There was a pause when neither of them moved. Finally, she heard his body shifting on the floor as he reached for the door. "Goodnight, Sakura," Lee said softly.

She felt a warm emotion welling up in her chest, although she wasn't sure what it was. She looked up just in time to see the door closing behind him.

"Goodnight, Lee."

* * *

"Alright, are you guys ready to _partay_?" Naruto asked, grinning.

Ino laughed excitedly. "You did _not_ just say that." She looked a lot happier tonight, he noticed, compared to when she broke up with Kiba. Naruto liked a smiling Ino much more than he did a crying one.

"Partay," he repeated for emphasis. "Par-tay."

"Shut up, dobe."

Sasuke, too. Even Sakura. In fact, Naruto thought, today was like some sort of magic spell. Everyone just suddenly brightened up.

He liked his friends so much more this way.

* * *

It was…different.

Not a bad kind of different—just different.

Kissing Lee was different from kissing Sasuke—they were opposite ends of the spectrum—but she liked that. Each of them gave her different feelings. Perhaps, right now, she couldn't differentiate them yet, but it wasn't as if she had to figure it out right away.

"Sakura." She looked over at Sasuke, a feeling a tingling emotion in her stomach. She could still remember when he kissed her that one day in his dorm—

"Yeah?"

Sasuke shifted closer to her on the couch, his voice lowered. "What did Lee talk to you about?" His lips were set into a scowl—in a way, it was kind of cute.

Unexpected tears sprung to her eyes as she smiled softly. "He wanted to…break up with me."

If he was surprised, he didn't show it. "And why's that?"

"Something about mistreating me…me not being happy…a bunch of crap, really." She sniffed a little, rubbing her nose sheepishly. "Before, I thought that I'd be happy, being free of him—but when it came down to it, I suppose I just can't let him go."

There was silence for a while. "Everyone moves at their own pace. How do you feel?" It might have been her imagination, but he sounded a little strained. She was probably hallucinating, or something; Sasuke would never be strained in any way, shape, or form.

"Alright. I made him promise that we'll still be going out until tomorrow ends."

"Why tomorrow?"

"Just…preparing myself, I guess." A little ways in front of them, near the television, Naruto and Ino were arguing over which horror movie to watch. "It would've been too abrupt tonight."

She thought she heard him mutter something under his breath, but she wasn't sure.

Ino then promptly plopped on the other side of Sakura, while Naruto raced into the kitchen to make popcorn before the previews of the movie ended.

"Ready for the all-nighter, you guys?" their blonde friend asked enthusiastically, turning the volume on the television to its highest. She felt Sasuke's body flinch a bit beside her—surely, he was afraid for the future of his house, the way things were going.

"Yes," Sakura said, grinning, all traces of her tears gone.

She was going to make the best of tonight.

* * *

Okay. She could do this. She could do this.

She'd done this before. She'd let it be known to Naruto that she has feelings for him. It wasn't as if she hadn't done that before. And, unlike Kiba, she was sure that Naruto would do anything in his power to keep her happy.

A grotesque face popped up in the screen, and she and Sakura let out simultaneous screams. Ino grabbed onto Naruto's arm in a death grip, genuinely terrified.

"That's the sixth time," Naruto complained beside her. "You're going to rip off my arm soon."

…She couldn't do this.

* * *

Something in Sasuke made him wish that Sakura would cling onto him as much as Ino did to Naruto.

And something else in Sasuke made him want to vomit at the thought.

He was beginning to think that he had a multiple personality disorder. As of late, it seemed as though he was arguing with himself ("I _said_ I want a mocha." "I always get black coffee, _bitch_."), and second-guessing himself as well. When it came down to it, it was kind of annoying.

_Grab onto my arm. Or my hand. Or _something_. It's there for a reason._

_No. That was a joke. Don't touch me, you sick girl._

There was one thing that Sasuke hated the most, and that was being indecisive. Not being able to draw a line as to where his feelings started and ended was frustrating. Seeing Sakura and wanting to smile and scowl at the same time made it difficult for his lips. Out of the corner of his eye, he glared at the pink-haired girl.

_I can't believe she didn't want to break up with Lee. That's offensive._

_Good. Now I'll have a reason to not do anything to her._

He thought for a while a the horror movie played on, and finally decided to stop being indecisive.

It was just bothersome to be all annoyed about it. Granted, Sasuke was better at being angry and impassive and all, but it wasn't always a nice thing. It was a lot easier and more pleasant, he noticed, to just let himself be happy (in his own Sasuke-ish way) around Sakura.

So until he found a better reason to be happy, he wouldn't mind if Sakura was his reason to smile.

(Er, smirk.)

_

* * *

The hours of the night wasted away…_

* * *

"Give that, teme!" Naruto screamed as he reached out for the Boardwalk card that was in Sasuke's hand.

Ino giggled, and shifted her body a little closer to him. He didn't seem to mind. Or notice.

* * *

Sakura offered a spoonful of her chocolate ice cream to Sasuke. "It's not going to kill you."

"Hn." He stuffed his hands in his pockets, and turned away.

"Come on, just try! I bet you've never even had chocolate ice cream before."

"Because it looks like shit."

"…Thanks for ruining my appetite."

"Good. All it'll do is make you fatter, anyway."

And so Sasuke experienced Sakura's hidden wrath.

* * *

"You and Sasuke are going to make a great couple."

"Shut up, Pig. He doesn't like me."

"He does! Look at the way he glances at you every two seconds."

"He doesn't."

"Why don't you actually look and check for yourself?"

"…Okay, he does, but that doesn't signify anything."

"Heh."

"And what about you and Naruto? I know you guys have something going on."

"…We don't."

"Don't even start that with me."

Pause. "Well…I do kind of like him, but that doesn't mean that anything's going to happen. He's too stupid to even realize that I'm a girl."

"No, he's not! He thinks you're one of the hottest girls he knows. And plus, it's good that you're over Kiba, right?"

"Yeah, shut up, Forehead."

"You're welcome."

* * *

"Turn it up," Sakura said.

"Turn it down," Sasuke demanded at exactly the same time.

They glanced at each other.

"It's fine just the way it is," she finally grumbled in defeat, slumping deeper into the couch, and subconsciously leaning towards Sasuke's body as the hours of the late night (early morning? She had lost count a little while ago) wasted away.

Naruto was already asleep, head resting in Ino's lap, who didn't seem to mind in the least. Her fingers were playing with a lock of his hair.

"Sakura," Sasuke suddenly said. He hadn't said anything to her since she and Ino had put on the chick flick. "How are you feeling?"

A part of her wondered why he was asking this, but some (stupid) voice inside her said that maybe, just maybe, what Ino had told her earlier was true. But she didn't really want to think about it—it was a little overwhelming.

She smiled, somehow knowing exactly what he was referring to. "Better. A lot better, actually." Tonight had showed her that even if she lost Lee, he'd still be a friend—and she still had Sasuke, Naruto, and Ino. And even without a boyfriend who cared about her to the other end of the world, she could still be incredibly happy.

"Good."

It was silent for a while, before she muttered something about borrowing his shoulder for a while before resting her head on it and promptly closing her eyes. Sasuke was comfortable. Sasuke was warm.

Sasuke was Sasuke.

And that was just enough.

* * *

…_and resulted in something indescribable._

* * *

She spent the entire day with him.

Up until now, Sakura didn't realize how much about Lee that she didn't know. Like how he loved squirrels, and how often (which was _really_ often) he was at the gym, working out. She didn't know he had two close friends at his college, who was Hinata's cousin and Tenten, a sweet Chinese girl. She didn't know anything.

And despite this, he still cared about her and listened to her complain and talk about her life. When it came down to it, he knew—and probably memorized—every single detail about her, while she didn't even attempt to get to know him.

It was probably a little late to feel guilty, though.

They went to the mall, just like their very first date. They had hot dogs, saw the most recent martial arts movie that Lee had been yearning to watch for a long time, and took pictures at the photo booth.

Needless to say, it was one of the best days of her life. Even if it _was_ with Lee.

And, of course, when everything came to close at the end of the day, things had to be said.

"We'll still be friends after this, right?" she asked as they stood outside her door. He had always walked her home; before, she hated it because she didn't want to be seen with someone like him, but now, she couldn't be more grateful.

"Of course! Your beauty is healthy for the soul."

Despite herself, Sakura blushed. Why was she always appreciating things too little, too late?

A smile stretched across her lips. "I'm glad. You really are an amazing person. Even if…we didn't work out." God, she was saying such lame things. This was stupid. "For the record, you were a great boyfriend. I was the one who wasn't putting enough into the relationship."

He shrugged. "I was the one who forced into it. I'm sure Sasuke-kun would never do that."

Her eyes nearly bugged out of her head. "What?" Surely, she didn't hear him right. He didn't just mention Sasuke—mentioning Sasuke meant that he knew what was going on—

Ah, shit.

"Sasuke-kun is a good person," he continued calmly, much to her surprise. "He may be in denial, but when it comes down to it, he'll take care of you."

Well, okay. This was beginning to get a little awkward. "Uh, thanks." Commitment, she realized, was something she'd never been great at—and it'd be a long time before she was. And when she was, if Sasuke was still there, still feeling the way everyone said he did now—then maybe, she'd take a chance.

"I am quite serious, Sakura-san." Lee regarded her with a steady gaze.

She smiled uncertainly. "Thanks…" Her voice still trailed off as she averted her gaze to the ground.

"If he asked, would you be his girlfriend?"

The question caught her off guard. From Lee, it was the strangest thing; before, he wouldn't tolerate any talk of Sakura's boyfriend that wasn't him—not even as a joke. But to bring it up himself, now—

"I…don't know." She played with her fingers. "Probably not."

"And why's that?"

"I'm just not ready." She shifted uncomfortably, not really wanting their conversation to go this way. "Well, I think I should go now. I'll see you around, alright?"

Lee's expression softened. "It's a promise." She unlocked her front door, and looked back at him, smiling lightly. The weight on her shoulders seemed to completely disappear when he grinned and flashed her the thumbs up sign.

Well, Lee would always be Lee.

* * *

To text, or not to text. That was the question.

Sasuke stared at his phone, contemplating the number of things he could say to her. She should probably be home by now. As of today, her relationship with Lee was no more.

To text…

_Sakura. Marry me. I don't have bushy eyebrows._

…or not to text.

_I think I've liked you for a long time, but I haven't realized it until recently. I know I have a stick up my ass, but thanks to you, it's disappearing. Slowly._

That was the question.

Ugh, enough with the Shakespeare references. He had enough of it at school already. Speaking of which—he hadn't completed his project yet. Maybe he should start working on that; school started in a couple of days…

Maybe he should finish it with Sakura. Yeah.

_Anyway._ The problem at hand.

To text, or not to text…

_I can't go all the way to say I love you, but I can say that right now, you're the one that's keeping me smiling after all of the shit that's kind of been happening to me. Er. Smirking. Yeah. So marry me. Please._

He pressed the _send_ button.

…That was the question.

The question that she'll hopefully say yes to.

**

* * *

A/N:** This is a little on the cheesy side, but oh well! Next chapter will be the last!

This is a little irrelevant, but I'd love it if you all went to my poll. I know I've been having, like, 984039 lately, and I do apologize. I realize that I pretty much only write for the Naruto fandom, but I do have other manga/anime that I like—FMA being one of them. FMA is actually probably my favorite, which is why I've never written for it—I can't do it justice. But as of late, I've been wanting to write one. So yeah. I digress. POLL, please!

P.S. …I don't know what crack I was on when I came up with the chapter title.


	14. epilogue

**sticks and stones**  
xiv: epilogue

* * *

Just as she was about to fall asleep, her phone vibrated loudly on her bedside table.

Who the _hell_ was in the right mind to text her at this time? Eyes half open, she felt around for her phone until her fingers wrapped around it.

God, the screen was so bright. She couldn't read the name.

Oh. Sasuke. Ugh, Sasuke or not, she hated it when people texted her late at night. She had to get up and actually read it and maybe reply—but if she didn't get up to read it, she'd die of curiosity, and probably not sleep again anyway.

She stared at the message.

_How are you feeling?_

Aw, that was sweet, coming from Sasuke.

But that didn't make him an exception. He cut into her _sleeping_ time.

Sighing, she fell back into her pillows, fingers moving across the buttons with familiarity.

_Pretty sleepy. You?_

The screen dimmed as she waited, and eventually, she placed it face down on her pillow, still in her hand. For the next two minutes, she stared absent-mindedly at her phone, until her eyes began to droop shut again.

Until it vibrated again. Loudly. In her _hand_.

_Screw you, Sasuke,_ she thought with as much menace as her groggy mind could muster.

_Look out your window._

Now he wanted her to get out of bed? That guy asked too much of her. Sighing, she pulled herself out of the warm comfort of her bed with much effort, before trudging to the window. She opened it, breathing in the chilly winter air.

Somehow, she felt a little disappointed when Sasuke wasn't there, as she had originally thought he would be.

She received another text.

_Look up._

She did as she was told, and stuck her head further out her window so she could look upwards. Much to her surprise, she found a pair of familiar sneakers dangling above her.

"S-Sasuke?" Her eyes widened. "What are you doing up there? Get down! You're going to catch a cold!" Needless to say, she didn't feel very sleepy anymore.

"Come up here." His tone was as demanding as ever, and she began to fear for her own life more than she did his. She was in nothing but her pajamas and slippers—that, and her accident-prone self didn't really call for climbing up on roofs covered in snow in the middle of the night during winter.

"I can't." She shook her head, even though he couldn't see. "I'll fall."

A hand appeared in her line of vision. "I'll help you up."

After a moment of deep contemplation, she reached up, and his warm hand clasped her colder one. She nearly screamed out loud when she almost lost her footing and fell out of the window and down two floors into the snow below.

When she finally made it through the long and treacherous journey upwards onto the roof, she fell onto her backside, on a picnic blanket—or something of the sort. She hoped it was waterproof.

(Just why and _how_ the hell did Sasuke set this up?)

"This is—nice," she said finally, gazing over the rooftop of the houses across the street. "How did you do this?"

She could hear the smirk in his voice. "Uchihas have a way with things." She laughed a little at this, a shiver running through her body. "Are you cold?" It was amusing, how he sounded so indifferent while expressing his concern—if it really could be considered concern.

"Just a little." Despite her words, her teeth were beginning to chatter. Pajamas and the middle of winter didn't go well together.

She felt a thick blanket drape over her shoulders, and she was, in all honesty, quite surprised when Sasuke shifted closer to her. A heavy blanket was wrapped around them, and she pulled her end closer to her. Combined with Sasuke's body heat, it wasn't so bad.

"Better?" Her heart jumped a little at that.

"Yeah."

She couldn't help but think that Lee had never done anything like this for her. It had always been the clichéd things; flowers on her birthday, roses for Valentine's Day, picking her up from school whenever possible, calling her just to say hi—it wore out after a while, but still.

But this—this was completely original.

(Well, only Sasuke would consider sitting atop a roof mid-December.)

"Do you regret it?" It was funny, how she knew exactly what he was referring to. She snuggled up closer to him, holding her toes in hopes that they would warm up.

She shook her head lightly. "No." Through it all, she might've disliked her relationship with Lee at points, but there were also points that she wouldn't trade for anything.

"Has Lee given you a bad impression on boyfriends?"

She thought about that for a moment. "I don't think so. He was just…different."

"Hn." He chuckled softly. "Going to die a virgin?"

"That's still highly possible, yes."

Sakura wasn't exactly sure what her relationship with Sasuke was, but she was fine with where it was right now.

* * *

After many years of being friends, Ino should've known that Naruto was the most unpredictable person to have ever graced the earth. Despite that fact, though, she still nearly tore his head off when she woke up, finding him sitting on the foot of her bed.

With her _bed hair_.

"Get out!" she screeched immediately, when she gathered the ability to think coherently. "Get the _hell_ out!" She threw back her covers and nearly killed him, her hands wrapping around his neck in a death grip.

"Getting out!"

Half an hour later, when she finally emerged from the bathroom, hair brushed and makeup done, she found Naruto in the living room, watching the television. "What are you doing here?"

He shrugged. "Waiting for you."

"Why?" She raised an eyebrow suspiciously. "You never come over without Sakura with you."

"If we're going to swap keys to each other's houses, we might as well use them."

She rolled her eyes. "That wasn't what I was _asking_." The thought of him sitting at the foot of her bed and waiting for her to wake up was kind of…sweet. Creepy, but sweet.

"What were you asking again? I forget." He was being awfully cocky and evasive today, she noted. Her lips curved into a frown as she watched him, his eyes still glued to the television. It must've been the lack of sleep in the last couple of days, she decided. He wouldn't be like that otherwise.

Ino plopped down onto the couch beside him. "I asked what you're doing here."

Suddenly, Naruto perked up. She cocked and eyebrow. "Right! I almost forgot!"

"Forgot what?"

Her blonde friend bent over to his bag, which sat at his feet. She watched the curiosity as he pulled a box from it. A shoe box?

Her jaw dropped when he opened it and showed its contents to her. "Oh. My God." It was those shoes. _Those_ shoes. Those silver strappy heels with the pretty stones embedded into it. The ones she couldn't afford even if she saved up for a year. "What—why—how…?" she finished weakly.

"I…bought them?" Naruto rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, pushing the open box into her hands. "Consider them an early birthday present."

She stared at the shoes, entranced. "I think I love you."

He laughed nervously. "I think I love you, too."

They sat for a while; him watching the television, her gazing longingly at her shoes. Finally, she pulled them out of the box, ripped off the tags and slipped her bare feet into them. "My feet are, like…crying with joy."

Naruto wrinkled his nose. "Uh, that's nice." After a pause, he spoke again. "Can I have something in exchange for those?" He gestured towards her feet.

"Naruto, I couldn't repay you even if I tried. So no."

"You don't even know what I want."

She looked at him, an eyebrow raised. He was watching her earnestly—well, the most earnest she had ever seen him, anyway. "What do you want?"

"Just a kiss."

Her heart leapt to her throat at that, and she resisted just throwing herself at him and crashing her mouth onto his. "Just a kiss?" If he asked, she'd probably give him more than that—but let's not go there.

He smiled sheepishly. "Or two. Or three."

Her lips tingled with anticipation. "I don't mind."

* * *

Upon passing the kitchen while hanging out at Naruto's house, Sasuke heard Sakura and Ino discussing interesting topics.

"He's _such_ a good kisser," the blonde was saying, practically gushing. "Only groped me once. When I slapped his hand away, he took the hint and didn't do it again."

Sakura laughed. He liked the way she laughed. (No, he wasn't a creeper. Even if he _was_ eavesdropping on their conversation from outside of the door.) "Sasuke hasn't done much of anything…"

"Well, you guys aren't even going out."

"I know." He heard her sigh. "It's a good thing, I guess. I need a break. But at the same time, I really want to be with him. You know?"

There was a pause. "No, I don't know."

"Like, I don't know! I kind of wish he'd do the things Lee never did. Slow dance under the weirdest circumstances, leave a rose on my bed on the special holidays that I don't get to see him—the unique things."

"Sasuke just might not be that kind of person."

"I know. Which is why I'm not really expecting much. What does Naruto do for you?"

"Nothing! It kind of makes me mad, but it kind of doesn't. And _that_ makes me mad." At this point, Sasuke decided that he heard all he needed to hear. And with that, he continued on his way back to the living room was, where Naruto was gaming it up.

* * *

"You never told me you were going out with Ino." The words made Naruto's fingers spasm. The red, bolded words of _GAME OVER_ flashed on the screen.

"Teme, you made me lose!" He childishly threw the game controller at Sasuke, and successfully missed. Dammit. "And what's this shit about Ino?"

"You're going out with her," his best friend repeated.

"Yeah, so?"

"You never told me."

After a moment, the blonde grinned. "I know you're in love with me, but that doesn't mean you have to act like a girl to get me, you know."

"Since when were you even remotely attractive to either gender?"

"Hey! Ino thinks I'm hot, okay?"

* * *

"Sasuke? What are you doing here?"

"Can I come in?"

Frowning, she stepped back to allow him inside. "Sure, but it's pretty messy. My parents are out though, so you don't have to worry." They were going back to school the next day, and she was still halfway through packing.

"Did you finish your project?"

"Just this afternoon. Did you?" Goosebumps rose on her skin as she closed the door behind him. "Do you want something to drink?"

"It's fine. I plan to finish mine later tonight."

Checking the clock, she frowned. "It's already eight. Shouldn't you start? Why are you here, anyway?"

"We the Kings released a new album not too long ago. Did you know?" Sasuke set down his bag by the couch and pulled something out. "Do you have an outlet anywhere?"

"Um, behind the couch. No, I didn't know—I don't listen to the radio often. Is it good?" She watched in curiosity as he set something up. When he moved out of the way to plug it in, she saw that they were portable iPod speakers. Ever the rich kid.

"I liked their first album more, but this one isn't too bad. There are two songs that are on the radio often." Plugging his iPod in, an upbeat song began playing. She didn't know why he needed speakers when she could've just listened using earphones. Her head bobbed to the beat, but once she caught herself, she tried to hide it. She knew Sasuke liked We the Kings, but these lyrics seemed too sugar-coated and sweet for him.

_Here's a song for the one who stole my heart, and ran so far, that cupid couldn't catch her._

Grinning, she asked him, "Are you trying to tell me something?" She expected him to scowl and deny it, or even smirk and play along with her—but he met her gaze evenly, and she couldn't help but swallow.

"Take it how you want."

The next song began playing—slower than the last.

_Do you remember the nights we stayed up just laughing, smiling for hours at anything?_

"Would you like to dance?" She snapped to attention then, and could do nothing but gape at him. He had his hand out, waiting for her to take it. His expression was devoid of any emotions, and she couldn't tell what he was thinking, if he was playing a joke on her—but when did Sasuke joke? He didn't joke. So he was being serious.

But dancing…?

"I can't dance," she confessed, feeling the blush rising to her cheeks.

"Just slow dancing," he reassured her. "The type of dancing that isn't really considered dancing." She wasn't sure how to feel, what to think of it—his eyes were far from sincere, and she didn't know what would happen if she accepted. But she wanted to, she realized—wanted to feel him breathing, wanting him to be close, wanting him to be there.

So she took his hand.

**

* * *

A/N:** The songs by We the Kings, respectively, are _Heaven Can Wait_ and _We'll Be A Dream_.

And this is the end! I'd like to say thanks to you guys for staying through all of the attitude I've given this fic, all of the long waits for updates and the crappy writing and cliché situations. I would've abandoned this fic if it weren't for you readers.

If any of you follow me on Twitter, you'd know that a while ago, I was talking about some other multi-chaptered fics. I'm working on my plot development, see? But I don't want to give you guys false hope, so for now, just stay tuned for updates on _fading away_! I finished writing that a couple of weeks ago, so updates should come monthly now, instead of once every two months.

:)


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